Scorpius Malfoy Goes To Hogwarts
by FrankieBGoode
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy is eleven years old and headed to Hogwarts. He doesn't quite know what to expect. He'll make friends in surprising places and you'll meet his new enemies as well. Rose/Scorpius will eventually rear it's head.
1. Expected and Unexpected

Scorpius Malfoy Goes To Hogwarts

_Author's Note: I hope you enjoy the story, please Read & Review! Constructive criticism is welcome and asked for, however all flames will be ignored since I quit smoking cigarettes and no longer need them. Enjoy!_

**Scorpius Malfoy Goes To Hogwarts**

**Year One:**

**Chapter One**

**Expected and Unexpected**

Eleven year old Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy was headed to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the first of September. Standing in Kings Cross beside his parents, he was not looking forward to Hogwarts as he knew most prospective first years were doing at that very moment. The reason he was not looking forward to his first year at Hogwarts had to do with his family and two generations of wizarding history.

His grandfather, Lucius, had been a supporter of the Dark Lord Voldemort and an infamous Death Eater, sent to Azkaban for nearly a year before the Dark Lord took control of the wizarding world the second time. His grandmother had essentially been a Death Eater as well. Draco Malfoy had been a Death Eater, too. It mattered to few that showings of remorse in the Battle of Hogwarts had got them all pardoned from terms in Azkaban. The Malfoy name now carried a blacker mark than ever before, even though Harry Potter himself had testified before the Wizengamot asking for leniency.

The Wizengamot had instilled hefty fines, but the Malfoy Family remained as rich, and apparently dignified as ever. But no one trusted them, and Scorpius doubted they ever would again.

"Where has your mind wandered to?" his mother, formerly known as Astoria Greengrass, had married his father five years after the Battle of Hogwarts.

Scorpius looked up into his mother's dark blue eyes that were a match of his; he had not inherited the cold grey eyes of his father. "No where, really," Scorpius said calmly. He had become accustomed to lying as the first of September quickly approached.

"Do not let anyone intimidate you, Scorpius. You are a Malfoy," Draco said in a cool tone as he looked at his son.

"Yes, Father," Scorpius said calmly.

"Draco, why do you insist on acting as if you are impervious to opinion?" Astoria said as she looked at her husband.

"Astoria, I do not want to have this conversation with you now," Draco said coolly.

"Do not take that tone with me, Draco. I know just as well as you do what our son is going to experience the moment he sets foot on that train, that he will be lucky to make a single friend because of your family's past history," Astoria said coolly as she glared at him. "Do not force him to make the same choices your father forced upon you, Draco. You are not nearly as much your father's son as you are your mother's, and you know it," she said calmly and then she took Scorpius's hand. "We love you, no matter what," she said and she kissed his forehead and then made sure the catch on Scorpius's owl, Magus's cage was still locked.

Before he knew it he was standing on the platform, the Hogwarts Express before him and a distinctly sick feeling in his stomach. He did not want to bear the burden of the Malfoy Family Reputation but he knew he already was by the stares aimed at him and his father. Those who knew his family skirted around them or glowered, those that didn't… well, he was fairly sure they would by the end of the night and they'd do the same. It was inevitable. Just as it was a foregone conclusion they would hate him even though he hadn't even been born when Voldemort had lived, either time.

"You'll be fine dear, don't worry," Astoria said and she touched his cheek, the barest hint of a smile on her face.

Scorpius just nodded. If he said anything he thought he'd vomit, and his father would definitely not like _that_. He glanced along the platform, people and cats, owls and frogs were hidden behind steam issuing from the train and then it cleared. Not fifty feet away stood the famous Harry Potter, Head of the Auror Department, and he was looking directly at his family.

Scorpius looked up at his father to see whether he had seen the Auror and childhood nemesis and knew he had. There was a slight tightness in his jaw, but he inclined his head in Harry Potter's direction and put a hand on his, Scorpius's, shoulder before turning away. When Scorpius looked back to see the Auror's reaction, the steam had blocked the view again.

"You had better get on the train," Draco said coolly.

"Yes, Father. Goodbye Mum, I promise to write," Scorpius said quietly as he looked at her. She crouched down before him, touched his cheek, and then pulled him close for a hug. He knew his father was ignoring the show of affection and he wished that he didn't act like Grandfather so much more in public than at home.

Scorpius dragged his trunk up into the train after putting Magus inside the entry. "Have a wonderful year, dear," Astoria Malfoy said with a smile to her son and he waved his understanding before he picked up his owl's cage and started to look for a compartment.

He was avoided, jostled, glowered at and pointedly ignored as he looked into windows and hoped to find an empty space. A much older boy with teal hair nearly ran him down as the train started to move, a very beautiful girl, about as old as the boy, with silvery blonde hair looked out the compartment door after him wistfully. "Come to Hogsmeade!" she called after the boy, a slightly French accent accompanying her words. Then she looked at him and a haughty look appeared on her features and she disappeared into her compartment. The door closed sharply behind her.

He walked up and then back along the train before he found an empty compartment in the very last carriage and was enormously relieved. At least he would not have to suffer the combined glares of the Voldemort haters and the remnants of pureblood families who had lost members to Azkaban. He was not welcomed by anyone, not that he had expected to be, and although he tried not to care, he found that he cared too much.

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy was not his father's son. He did not want to be hated. He wanted to have friends, learn to fly a broomstick properly, play Quidditch, and tell jokes. He wanted to enjoy his time at school rather than find himself as miserable as the world felt he should be, just because he was a Malfoy. "I'm not my Father," he said aloud to the empty compartment, annoyed that he felt his eyes water because he did not want to be alone.

As a distraction, he pulled out his copy of _Transfiguration for Beginners_ from his trunk and began to read where he had left off the previous day. He had read all his course books twice, hoping that maybe he would be able to develop a reputation for something other than being a Malfoy, but he wasn't sure whether he would even be any good at magic. A few times in the last two weeks he thought that it would have been better if he'd ended up a Squib, then he wouldn't have had to worry about what kids at school would think about him when he got there.

Scorpius was surprised when the compartment door opened and a boy his age stood there looking in. He had brown hair, grey eyes and he smiled a little anxiously. "Hi, um, do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full," the boy said sounding a little anxious.

Scorpius shrugged. "No. I don't mind," he said calmly but he kept his book out as he suspiciously wondered if the boy was playing a trick.

"Great!" the boy said excitedly and he dragged his trunk into the compartment and closed the door. "I'm Blake Carter," he said, giving a smile and holding out his hand.

"I'm Scorpius Malfoy," he said and held out his hand calmly. When the boy took it, shook briefly and looked a little oddly at him, he knew that he was Muggleborn.

"Scorpius?" Blake said curiously.

He shrugged. "My Father's name is Draco," he said and wondered if he was going to walk back out.

"I take it there's a tradition in your family about naming you after animals, or constellations," Blake said as if it were simply an interesting factoid. "What's your middle name?" he asked.

"Hyperion," Scorpius replied wondering where this was going.

"I like that better than Scorpius, but both of them are wordy," Blake said and he looked thoughtful for a moment. "How do you feel about nicknames?" he asked.

Scorpius felt a skeptical look cross over his face. "That would entirely depend on what you had in mind," Scorpius said.

"Well, I was thinking Sam," Blake said calmly.

"Sam," Scorpius said, frowning.

"Your initials don't spell out Sam, but they almost sound the same. If you don't like it I can call you Scorpius," Blake said nonchalantly although 'Scorpius' did not fall as easily out of his mouth.

Scorpius felt rather elated all of a sudden and he smiled. "Sam is fine, great actually," he said.

"Wonderful. Now, did you know you were a wizard before you got your letter?"

"Yes."

"You don't sound too enthusiastic," Blake said calmly.

"He's got reason not to be, don't you Malfoy?" a cruel sounding voice came from the compartment door that neither boy had heard open.

Scorpius's head whipped toward the door and he saw Walden Macnair's grandson, Thaddeus, standing at the door, glowering at him.

"What do you got against him?" Blake said irritably, frowning at the boy who was probably a year or two older than them.

"He shouldn't be alive. His father should be in Azkaban with my Granddad, shouldn't he, Malfoy?" Thaddeus said coldly.

"I don't know what the hell Azkaban is, but I doubt Scorpius had anything to do with your Granddad being there," Blake said looking at Thaddeus as if he were an idiot.

"I didn't, but Voldemort did," Scorpius said looking at Thaddeus who blanched.

Blake had read the name in his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook, but hadn't paid much attention while reading it. "And why are you taking this out on him?" he said looking at Thaddeus.

"Mind your own business, Mudblood," Thaddeus said.

"Don't call him that, Macnair!" Scorpius said and he stood up, holding the wand he didn't yet know how to use, and glared at him. "Get the hell out," he said angrily.

Macnair glared. "Better watch yourself, Malfoy," he said and he walked away just as footsteps came hurrying along the corridor.

A second later the very pretty girl with silvery blonde hair appeared. "What is going on here?" the French accent rather pronounced as she looked down her nose at Malfoy, a gold badge gleamed on her robes that read: Head Girl.

Scorpius looked away from her. He knew who she was now. Victoire Weasley. He said nothing.

Blake was surprised at the way the pretty girl was looking at Scorpius with some amount of disgust. "That bloke that just left came in here, seemed like he was threatening Scorpius and then called me something, um… Mudblood and Scorpius told him to get lost," Blake said calmly looking between the older girl and the boy his age sitting across from looking like he expected to be hit.

"Is this true, Mr. Malfoy?" Victoire Weasley said coolly.

"Yes, but I don't really expect you to believe me," Scorpius said quietly, still looking away from her. She huffed and then she closed the compartment door and left without another word.

Blake looked at Scorpius. "Mate, what the heck is going on here?" Blake said curiously.

"I'm a Malfoy," Scorpius said, but as he said it, he spat it out as if it were an insult.

"Er… I really haven't got a clue what you're talking about. And who was that Voldemort guy you were talking about?" Blake asked frowning.

"Voldemort was the last Dark Wizard to try and seize control of the wizarding world. He was… evil. He was defeated nineteen years ago by Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, twice," Scorpius said in a rather monotone voice. He may as well get it over with. "He wanted to get rid of Muggleborns, witches and wizards with non-magic parents, people he considered… unclean and anyone to defy him was killed. When Harry Potter was a baby he tried to kill him, the curse rebounded and Voldemort disappeared for a while. He came back though, determined to kill Harry Potter, determined to regain power and destroy the obstacles in his way," he said quietly, dully. Blake would surely walk out when he'd finished, and Scorpius wouldn't blame him.

"Albus Dumbledore was Headmaster of Hogwarts then, and my Grandfather was one of his supporters, Voldemort's that is. He was a Death Eater and he had been captured at the Ministry of Magic trying to get a prophecy from Harry Potter and his friends who had been tricked into going. He was arrested and sent to Azkaban. And because of the mistakes that my Grandfather made, Voldemort tasked my Father with killing Dumbledore," Scorpius said glumly.

"My father wasn't the one to kill Albus Dumbledore, but he made it possible for Death Eaters to enter the school. Harry Potter's friends, the Order of the Phoenix and some Aurors were in the school when the attack started and did their best to fight. Bill Weasley was maimed by Fenrir Greyback, a werewolf whose bloodlust had extended beyond the full moon. Bill Weasley is the Head Girl's father," Scorpius said quietly and he gestured toward the door.

"My father fled the school with the Death Eaters after Albus Dumbledore was killed. Before the end of the summer Voldemort killed the Minister of Magic, planted a puppet to sit and do his bidding and took complete control of the wizarding community. His supporters were let out of Azkaban; my Grandfather was one of them. He spent several months getting Muggleborns tossed out of Hogwarts, and anyone who had "muddied" the wizarding community was arrested. By this time, my Grandparents and my Father were members of his inner circle, but they didn't want to be there, not anymore, but it was a lifetime of service or death," Scorpius said quietly.

"The last battle of the war came to Hogwarts. Giants and Death Eaters laid siege to the school while Harry Potter and the older students and teachers defended it. Harry Potter was looking for something in the school, no one knows what, except his friends, and so… the Battle of Hogwarts began. My Grandparents didn't have wands by then, my Grandfather's destroyed when Voldemort used it against Harry Potter; my Grandmother's was in my father's hands, his wand having been taken by Harry Potter not long before that. My father tried to prevent Harry Potter from finding what he was looking for, one of his friends started a cursed fire that nearly killed them all, and Harry Potter saved his life for the first time that night," Scorpius said very quietly, he wasn't sure what Blake must think.

"The second time, my father had been pleading with a Death Eater, telling him he was on their side, and Harry Potter stunned the Death Eater, my father was spared again. Then… no one really knows what happened. Voldemort called back his defenders, Harry Potter disappeared, and sometime later Voldemort and his supporters came out of the forest carrying the apparently dead body of Harry Potter. My Grandmother… witnessed what happened and all she will tell me is that she told Voldemort Harry Potter was dead so she could enter the castle and look for my father. He wasn't dead. And the battle started again when Neville Longbottom pulled Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat and cut the head off of Voldemort's pet snake and companion, Nagini," he paused and took a breath before he continued.

"His followers were put down in the ensuing battle, either killed or captured, and my grandparents only looked for my father. Bellatrix Lestrange, technically my great aunt, and one of Voldemort's staunchest supporters was killed by Molly Weasley when Lestrange barely missed killing her daughter Ginny, who later married Harry Potter. Voldemort tried to kill Molly Weasley but Harry Potter appeared from under his Invisibility Cloak in the middle of the crowded Great Hall, offered Voldemort one last chance to repent his actions, change his ways. Voldemort declined. He tried to kill Harry again, Harry tried to disarm him. The Killing Curse hit the Disarming Charm in midair, and then rebounded, killed Voldemort once and for all and his wand flew up into the air and Harry Potter caught it," he said quickly, not stopping at all.

"My Father and Grandparents were tried at the Wizengamot and Harry Potter asked the court to give them leniency. There was a large fine. That was it. So, the families of those who were sent to Azkaban hate us, and so does everyone else," Scorpius said quietly.

Blake had listened intently to Scorpius's rather lengthy explanation. Silence fell in the compartment as Scorpius finished and he said, "Seems to me that you are not your father, Sam."

Scorpius looked up, hardly daring to hope as he looked at Blake who had a vaguely crooked smile on his face. "So you aren't going to try and find another compartment?" he asked.

"Nope. I don't see a point," Blake said and he grinned.

Scorpius was stunned. "You mean it?" he said.

"Sam, shut up, and tell me more about Hogwarts, eh? I only heard so much when Professor McGonagall came with my letter," Blake said smiling. "And you were rambling so fast I think I only heard half of what you said," he said and his smile was more of a highly amused smirk.

Scorpius grinned and it wasn't menacing or creepy. It was a completely happy smile that changed his expression so much that most who had known his father might not have thought of Scorpius as a Malfoy. He launched into explanations of what he knew about the school, the subjects and everything.

Blake interrupted to ask questions about specific things that interested him and the two boys spent their journey to Hogwarts talking and getting to know each other only being interrupted around midday by the woman pushing the sweets cart. Scorpius taught Blake Exploding Snap and told him about wizard's chess.

Before either one of them knew it darkness had fallen and an announcement came over the train telling them that they were five minutes from Hogwarts. Scorpius and Blake quickly put on their robes and when the train came to a stop made their way off, leaving their baggage in their compartment. They both heard the call of Rubeus Hagrid summoning the first years to him for their journey across the lake. Blake and Scorpius ended up in a boat with two twin girls neither one of whom looked at Scorpius as if they knew who he was.

Hagrid led the new first years into the castle and they were met by the Head of Gryffindor House and Deputy Headmaster, Professor Neville Longbottom.

"Here yeh are Professor," Hagrid said gesturing widely with his hands.

"Thanks Hagrid," Longbottom said with a pleasant smile and he waited for the first years to fall silent. "Come with me please," he said and led them to an antechamber outside the Great Hall. "Gather round, please," he said and smiled at the first years.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor Longbottom. We will be joining the rest of the school in the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast momentarily, but first you lot have to be Sorted into your Houses. Your House here at Hogwarts will be a bit like your family. You'll take classes with them and spend your time in your House common room. The Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin and in a few minutes you'll be joining one of them. Excuse me for a moment, please wait quietly," Longbottom said still smiling and then he left the room for a moment.

Scorpius stood beside Blake and the two of them looked around the room. Scorpius saw Harry Potter's youngest son Albus standing to one side of the room, looking nervous, and beside him, his cousin Rose Weasley who looked a bit pale. He looked away before either one of them could take notice of him.

"This is cool," Blake said as he looked up and turned around in place.

Scorpius grinned. "Wait, you haven't seen anything yet," he said in a low voice being careful not to draw attention to him or Blake. He was already aware that Vincent Goyle and Lester Warrington were glowering at him from the "Slytherin" block on one side of the room.

Professor Longbottom rejoined them shortly. "Follow me," he said, smiling and he led them into the Great Hall.

Scorpius heard Blake gasp as he caught sight of the enchanted ceiling above the tables that showed a perfect image of the sky outside. "Brilliant!" Blake said grinning as Professor Longbottom led them up in front of the High Table where the teachers and Headmistress sat.

The Sorting Hat was placed on a stool in front of the hall and a rip opened along the brim like a mouth and it began to sing about the qualities each House desired. The students and teachers clapped when the Hat finished its song and Professor Longbottom stepped forward again.

"When I call your name, please come forward and take a seat on the stool and place the Sorting Hat on your head," Professor Longbottom said calmly and he pulled a roll of parchment from the pocket of his robes, smiled, and began. "Abbott, Daisy," he said calmly.

A small girl with a long plait of blonde hair and a pink face hurried up to the stool and put the patched, frayed and slightly charred Sorting Hat on her head. Within a moment the Hat had called, "Hufflepuff," and the table the second from the left started clapping loudly to welcome her.

"Berkeley, Amelia," Longbottom said and a brunette girl went up to the stool and it was nearly a minute after the Hat was on her head that it called, "Gryffindor!" The table beside Hufflepuff erupted into cheers and she hurried off to join them.

Silence fell again and Longbottom called, "Carter, Blake." Blake grinned at Scorpius and went up to the stool. The Hat had barely touched his brown hair when it called out, "Gryffindor!" again and again Gryffindor House erupted into cheers. Blake rushed off to join them grinning.

Scorpius immediately felt ill. The only person that likely wouldn't hate him on sight had been sent to the House of his family's enemies. He looked down at the floor, absorbed in his own thoughts, wondering whether he could even get near Gryffindor or whether Blake would stay his friend if he went to Slytherin. He didn't want to think about it, but it was all he could do and he barely paid attention as Professor Longbottom read names. "Kincaid, Devin," was sent to Ravenclaw and then Longbottom called out in a calmly detached voice, "Malfoy, Scorpius."

Scorpius thought he would be faint as the Hall fell silent at his name and watched him with a thousand pairs of eyes as he walked up to the stool, his eyes cast down at the floor to keep from seeing everyone staring at him again. He sat on the stool, the Sorting Hat fell over his head, over his eyes and blocked out the sight of those before him.

"Well, well, well, another Malfoy," a tiny voice said in Scorpius's ear. "Where should I put you?" it asked.

Scorpius frowned and thought, _I thought it was your choice._

"It could be, but I want to know where you want to go," the hat said.

_I don't know. Just pick already. I know you're going to put me in Slytherin so get it over with already. _

"Do you want to go to Slytherin?" it asked. "You'd do well there, I suppose."

_No. I don't want to be there. I don't want to be my father. I don't want to be a Malfoy!_

"Very well then," the hat said quietly. "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted to the Hall at large.

Scorpius felt the hat being lifted from his head, but there was no applause, just a ringing silence that seemed to last forever as he looked out at the House tables. He really thought he was going to be sick. His father was going to murder him.

A hand fell on his shoulder and Scorpius nearly toppled off the stool as he looked up into the calmly pleasant face of Professor Longbottom. "Go on, Mr. Malfoy," he said calmly and then he smiled a bit and began to clap in time with Professor McGonagall.

More applause started at the Gryffindor table, with Blake being the loudest of the lot, and Scorpius got down from the stool and hurried over to sit at the Gryffindor table beside Blake Carter. It was probably the quietest applause in Gryffindor history.

"You looked like you were going to faint, Sam," Blake said with a grin as Scorpius sat beside him.

He looked cautiously along the table at the other Gryffindors. "I thought I would too," he said in a low voice. "They don't look too happy having me here," he said quietly.

"Gah! Ignore 'em, you belong here just as much as I do, maybe more," Blake said and nudged Scorpius with his elbow still grinning.

Scorpius looked skeptical and then Professor Longbottom's voice called out, "Potter, Albus." His attention was drawn immediately to the small boy with black hair that was making his way up to the stool. The hat wasn't on his head long before it called, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The whole of the Gryffindor table broke into applause led by Albus's older brother James, a second year, and Albus Potter hurried over to the Gryffindor table and sat down across from Blake and Scorpius grinning. Albus looked at Scorpius cautiously while he was clapped on the back by the few older Gryffindors who could reach. Scorpius met the look that Albus sent him but neither said anything as the Sorting continued.

The pair of twins that Scorpius and Blake sat in their little boat with, "Sinclair, Ella," and "Sinclair, Erica," both went to Hufflepuff with applause and cheers for the two of them. "Thomas, Althea," was sent to Ravenclaw and Scorpius recognized her as the daughter of Dean Thomas. After "Warrington, Lester," who was sent to Slytherin almost before the Hat touched his head, Professor Longbottom called, "Weasley, Rose."

Scorpius saw her walk calmly up to the stool, but he knew she couldn't be feeling perfectly calm. After all, maybe the Sorting Hat had lost its marbles; it had sent him to Gryffindor, hadn't it?

But Rose Weasley had little reason to fear as the hat called, "GRYFFINDOR!" and she smiled broadly and walked proudly over to join the table, sitting beside her cousin Albus smiling and then she looked across the table at Scorpius.

Scorpius simply raised a brow as she looked at him and then he looked back at the two remaining students, a boy and girl. The boy, "Winston, Linus," was sent to Ravenclaw without a very long wait and the girl, "Zabini, Alexis," was sent to Slytherin very shortly after.

The Headmistress, Professor Minerva McGonagall got to her feet as Professor Longbottom carried the stool and Sorting Hat away. She had aged, grey hair threaded through most of the formerly dark knot tied tightly at the back of her head. "Welcome to Hogwarts students new and old," McGonagall said in her stern and rather clipped tone of voice. "I know you are hungry, so let the feast begin," she said calmly and she sat down.

The golden plates on all the tables were filled with food in a moment. Blake's eyes widened in surprise and his jaw dropped open. "Wicked! Sam, you didn't tell me that was gonna happen!" Blake said and he elbowed Scorpius again.

"Sorry, forgot," he said as he started to put food onto his plate. He was absolutely famished but as he looked up both Rose and Albus were looking at him.

Blake noticed and decided to be a distraction. "Hi! I'm Blake Carter, Muggleborn and aspiring troublemaker; do you think I've come to the right house?" Blake said and he grinned at the two.

Albus looked at Blake first and grinned a little. "Albus Potter," he said with a hesitant smile.

"Right, Sam told me about your Dad. Nice to meet you!" Blake said and reached across the table, offering his hand to shake.

"Why are you calling him Sam?" Rose said in a rather prim voice as she looked at Scorpius through narrowed eyes.

"It's what his initials sound like if you say them aloud. Scorpius is a bit much, don't you think? No offense, mate, but really, what were your parents thinking?" Blake said with a grin before he ripped chicken off a drumstick in his hand.

Scorpius grinned a little and laughed. "I don't know, I wasn't able to protest," he said smiling.

Albus laughed. "I understand that feeling. My friends call me Al," Albus said and he stuck his hand across the table, offering it to Scorpius.

"Al," Rose said tartly.

"What?" Albus said as he looked at his cousin.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Never mind," she said and turned away to a blonde first year sitting beside her who was called Connie Creevey pointedly ignoring her cousin.

Albus shrugged a little and offered his hand to Scorpius yet again. "Nice to meet you," he said calmly.

Scorpius cautiously shook Albus's hand, wondering if one of Albus's uncles' joke products was going to explode in front of him. "You too," he said smiling a little.

Albus grinned and talk was interrupted more often than not by the boys jamming food into their mouths. The delicious dinner gave way to scrumptious desserts and the boys groaned, but all of them took something. Scorpius and Albus both took treacle tart and grinned a little at their having something in common. Scorpius began to forget that he had been worried about which House he was going to end up in, that his father wouldn't be happy, and simply got on well with Blake and Albus and another first year boy named Halim Griffin who sounded both Welsh and Middle Eastern all at once.

Dessert finished and the golden plates returned to their original sparkling state. Professor McGonagall got to her feet yet again and gave start of term notices. There was the usual warning about the Forbidden Forest being in fact forbidden, that Mr. Filch the caretaker had a posted notice of all banned items on his office door numbering some seven hundred and six items to be consulted at one's leisure if they were curious and that Quidditch trials would be held the next week. "You are dismissed," McGonagall said shortly and all at once the Great Hall was filled with the scrape of benches and the murmur of a thousand footsteps.

Scorpius was a little surprised by the suddenness with which everyone stood up. He heard a loud voice call, "Gryffindor first years this way, please! First years over here!" Scorpius looked around and saw a boy of about fifth or sixth year with a prefect badge pinned on his robes. He had longer dark brown hair that was tied into a tail at the back of his neck.

Scorpius, Blake, Albus and Halim quickly made their way over to the much taller boy and the Gryffindor girls, Rose, Connie, Amelia and Breana Donnelly arrived shortly.

"Is this all the first years?" the prefect asked and then he nodded. "Follow me please," he said and began leading them out of the Great Hall. "My name is Bernard Griswold, I am your sixth year prefect and if you have any questions or any difficulties feel free to ask me, or any other prefect for assistance," he said calmly and gave a smile.

They had reached the doors into the entrance hall when a voice called from the crowded area, "Malfoy's a Blood Traitor!"

Scorpius was suddenly brought back to his distinctly unusual situation and the smile he'd been wearing in response to a joke told by Blake dropped away.

"Move along," Griswold said coolly to the older students that had stopped to stare at Scorpius.

"Don't listen to those prats, Sam," Blake said insistently.

"He's right. The Sorting Hat must've had a reason for putting you in Gryffindor, don't worry about it," Albus said encouragingly.

A snort of derision came from behind the boys. Scorpius turned to look and saw Rose Weasley glowering at him and Albus.

"You know, Rose, I think you're spending too much time with your father and Uncle George," Albus said quietly.

"And I don't think you spent nearly enough time with _your_ father, Albus Potter," Rose said with her nose in the air.

"Just because my Dad and his Dad didn't like each other doesn't mean we have to carry on with it like it's a tradition! And my Dad wouldn't want me judging him simply because of the history between them!" Albus said hotly, his cheeks pink.

"Enough," Griswold said from above them. He looked at Rose. "Miss Weasley, if you are unhappy with the Sorting Hat's choice to put Mr. Malfoy into Gryffindor House rather than the apparently expected Slytherin perhaps you should take it up with the Hat. Until such a time as you do, I suggest you discontinue this argument," his voice was calm and showed no sign of approval or disapproval.

Rose flushed and looked away from Griswold. Albus crossed his arms, still feeling annoyed. Blake looked as if he wanted to laugh at both of them. Halim and the other girls were silent and appeared to just be waiting to be led to Gryffindor Tower. Scorpius felt… uncomfortable and he wasn't sure how to feel otherwise. He didn't want Albus being at odds with his family simply because of him.

"Now that that's over with, please follow me," Griswold said and he led the group up the marble staircase and along their winding path up to the seventh floor and the portrait of the Fat Lady he pointed out where classrooms and things like the Trophy Room and Library were located.

At the end of the last corridor where a large woman in a pink dress was seated in a picture frame Griswold said, "_Avis_." The portrait swung open to reveal a circular opening in the wall and a large round room bedecked in scarlet and gold, the Gryffindor colors. Only a few students remained in the room, everyone else it appeared had already gone to bed.

Scorpius looked around feeling a little awed. He had got a description of the Slytherin common room from his father when he had got his Hogwarts letter. He'd never been particularly inspired by the green and silver and the dimness that he had imagined as his father described it. In turn, the Gryffindor common room was bright, cheerful, and he longed to go flop down on the sofa before the fire that was bound to be squashy and comfortable. All of the armchairs looked comfortable and inviting, the fire lit in the grate of the fireplace just the same.

Griswold had led them across the room to a wall with two doors set in it. "Girls, up the stairs to the top, you will find your dormitory. Boys, you're also at the top. I would suggest you get to sleep, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow," Griswold said and he let the boys go up the stairs ahead of him.

When Blake, Albus, Scorpius and Halim reached the top of the stairs there was a door with a plaque on it that read: _First Years_. "Wicked!" Blake said and he pushed open the door to reveal the room.

Albus was grinning. "It's just like Dad and James described," he said and he and Blake rushed in to find that their trunks had been placed at the end of the beds that were hung with maroon hangings.

"Very cool," Halim said as he crossed the room, smiling a little.

Scorpius had faltered a little at the door but he'd finally entered and closed the door behind him as he started to look around.

Albus noticed Scorpius looking far too pensive for so late at night. "Sam, don't think about it, all right? There's nothing anyone can do anyway. The Sorting Hat put you here, as far as I'm concerned, as far as we're all concerned," he said and gestured around at Blake and Halim and paused. "You belong here, no matter what my dumb cousin says," he said quickly.

"Al, don't call Rose dumb," a calm voice said from the door and all of the first year boys jumped and looked around. Standing just inside was a boy with hair just as messy as Albus's but it looked more red than black but wasn't actually either, but somewhere in between.

"James, what are you doing here?" Albus said feeling a little anxious as he shifted absently from foot to foot as if preparing to run.

James Potter gave a grave sort of smile to his brother and then he looked at Scorpius. "Scorpius Malfoy," he said calmly.

"That's me," Scorpius said calmly as he looked at the boy who did and didn't look like his new friend Albus.

"Why did the Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor?" James asked a little seriously.

"I don't know," Scorpius said.

"The Sorting Hat almost put Dad in Slytherin, James! He told me before we got on the train," Albus said quickly before James could say anything else.

James gave his brother another smallish smile. "Al, don't worry all right? I'm not going to judge him on who his Dad was, but there's going to be others that will. People a lot bigger than me or Rose, you have to be prepared for it, that's all. Just a warning, you'll all probably end up in detention at some point, it's not nearly as scary as the teachers make it seem," he said and he grinned. "Goodnight," he said and he turned and left the dormitory closing the door behind him as he went.

Albus let out a sigh of relief and then at the curious look that Blake sent him he shifted a little and said, "He was teasing me that I'd end up in Slytherin, has been since he came home at the end of last year."

Blake grinned. "Yeah, well, he's your brother, isn't he? He's got that right," Blake said and then he yawned. "Hell, I'm tired. I suggest you lot get to sleep, we don't want to be late for class," he said and grinned as he dug into his trunk for his pajamas.

Halim had gone to his trunk when James had left and was half dressed in his pajamas. "Sam, what's it that's really bugging you about being put in Gryffindor?" he asked calmly.

Scorpius frowned. "That my Father won't like it," he said quietly.

"Sirius Black was put in Gryffindor when the whole lot of his family had been in Slytherin, even my Dad's godson's Mum, and she's all right. A bit scary sometimes when you get her hacked off, but… I think that's just her," Albus said as he too was digging into his trunk for his pajamas, pulling them out of a mess of books and cauldron and robes. He tugged on them and fell back on his butt. "Whoops! Anyway, Sirius didn't care what his family thought, although, since I never met him I can't say for sure, but he was probably nervous about being put in Gryffindor too. He survived, I'm sure you will," he said as he looked up at Scorpius from the floor smiling a little.

Scorpius had forgot how really connected he was with the Potters and it was odd to be reminded of it. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. If Sirius Black survived his family, I can survive mine," he said firmly. He was determined that he would too, even if his father came to the school to yell at him.

"That's the spirit!" Blake said with a grin. "Now get out your pajamas and go to sleep! We have class bright and early tomorrow!" he said still grinning as he climbed on his bed.

Scorpius smiled again and he went to his trunk and dug out his pajamas which had been folded neatly by his Mum the night before. He looked at them and started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Blake asked.

Albus looked at Scorpius's pajamas and he too began to grin and then to laugh. "Let's hope your Dad sees the irony as well as we do," Albus said as he smirked at the green and silver striped pajamas that Scorpius held.

"Confused here, what's going on?" Blake asked.

"Didn't you see the banner above the Slytherin table, Blake?" Halim asked as he too was smiling.

"I wasn't really paying attention. Why?" he asked.

"Slytherin colors are green and silver," Scorpius said and shook his pajamas at Blake.

Blake grinned. "I dare you to wear those to class tomorrow," he said.

"Let's not push it too early, wait and see how people take to this," Albus said but he was smiling. "But when a while has gone by, you seriously should wear them," he said grinning.

Scorpius snorted. "I'll take it under advisement," he said and he changed and climbed into his bed. "Goodnight!" he called.

A chorus of three voices said, "Goodnight!" in return and Scorpius closed his eyes and for the first time in months felt okay with himself. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.

_Author's Note: Please Review! Your input gets you more story - it's outright bribery, but hopefully it works! Thank you for reading! - Frankie_


	2. A Flurry of Owls

**Scorpius Malfoy Goes To Hogwarts**

**Year One:**

**Chapter Two**

**A Flurry of Owls**

The next morning was Friday and the four first year Gryffindor boys made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They got there fairly quickly as they were able to follow a group of Ravenclaws from the fourth floor on down but it wasn't an experience they wanted to repeat since they kept glancing back at Scorpius and making rude comments. Scorpius did his best to ignore them, but he knew he would have to just get used to it because it wasn't likely to end for a while.

Once seated at the Gryffindor table they piled their plates with enough food to feed an army, or just four growing boys, and looked at their class schedules which Professor Longbottom had passed out to them. "What do we have today?" Blake asked through a mouthful of rashers before he swallowed and looked apologetic.

"It's… Double Potions with… oh, hell, the Slytherins," Albus said as he looked at their schedule and then glanced at Scorpius apologetically.

Scorpius stiffened. "Well, I suppose it's better to get it over with as soon as possible," he said and he gave a sigh.

"But we have got the afternoon off, Sam, there's that to look forward to," Halim said as he glanced at his schedule.

"If I don't get killed by a flying cauldron first that is," Scorpius said a little sardonically.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Professor Goldwyn will prevent such a catastrophe from happening," Blake said and he grinned at Scorpius. "And even if she doesn't I'm sure this place has got magic enough to fix the dent in your head," he said and they all started laughing, even Scorpius.

After breakfast the boys made their way down to the dungeons and the Potions classroom. The door was open; the classroom lit by torches in brackets on the wall, and it was empty. But based on the quantity of footsteps echoing down the corridor behind them, it didn't appear that it would be for very long. The boys took seats together at one table and waited, talking about what they'd heard about Professor Amara Goldwyn at breakfast.

They had heard that she had gone to Beauxbatons Academy in France, that she had traveled America visiting the various magical institutions scattered across the country, and that she had returned and settled in Scotland and applied for the position as Potions Master when Professor Slughorn retired about ten years after the Battle of Hogwarts.

No one was actually sure whether any of what was said about Professor Goldwyn was true, only that she knew how to speak French, but had no accent, that she occasionally said, "Y'all," with an American South feel behind it and that she was really rather pretty. For a Professor, that was.

A few minutes after the Gryffindor boys had sat down, the girls walked in together. Rose was in the lead and settled at the front of the classroom. Amelia joined her, so did Breana and Connie, all of them completely ignored the boys, not that the boys really cared very much.

Soon the Slytherins made their way into the classroom. Lester Warrington glared at Scorpius; Scorpius looked bored as he looked back. Vincent Goyle cracked his knuckles and Garridan Harper sat down immediately not looking at anyone. Then Alexis Zabini sashayed into the classroom. There was no other word for the way she walked and Gillian Harper, fraternal twin of Garridan, was clearly both awed and jealous. Eldora Connor walked in last, alone, and sat by herself ignored by the other Slytherins.

Scorpius had a feeling that he knew why. Connor wasn't a pureblood surname. It wasn't that she was ugly or disfigured, or even literally unclean; she was just… not one of _them_.

It wasn't often that Muggleborns ended up in Slytherin House, but Eldora Connor was indeed as Muggleborn as it got. Her father was a postman, her mother ran a library and her older brother was in sixth year, a Ravenclaw named Peregrin Connor, usually called Perry. Their mother had a fondness for J. R. R. Tolkien.

Scorpius watched Eldora Connor for a moment, mostly out of curiosity, and then she looked up at him with narrowed eyes like that of a hawk. He quickly looked away.

A moment later Professor Goldwyn entered the room from the corridor walking briskly. "Good morning class," she said calmly and she arrived at the front of the classroom at her desk with a leather briefcase in hand.

"Good morning, Professor," the Gryffindors replied nearly as one.

Professor Goldwyn looked up as she pulled a roll of parchment from the briefcase. Scorpius noticed that Professor Goldwyn pulled her dark hair into a very tight plait but tendrils escaped around her face, softening the angles of it and the dark of her eyes as well. She looked very, very familiar, but he could not place why at all.

Goldwyn began to take roll. She did not hesitate on any name as she said it aloud, not even Scorpius's which he found a little odd, but then before she said, "Zabini, Alexis," she paused for a moment and it almost looked as if she were trying to compose herself. Then calmly she said the Slytherin girl's name and Alexis Zabini looked hard at Professor Goldwyn almost as if she too recognized her as Scorpius did and then the moment passed Zabini looked away and Goldwyn began to speak about Potions as a subject.

"There are many, many different types of potions that do just as many things, when they are properly made, but any or all of them can be dangerous if attention is not paid while they are being brewed," Goldwyn said in a calm and measured voice as she sort of rested against the edge of her desk and looked at them all. "It is my request that you do not fool around in my classroom, that you pay attention to my instructions, and that you remember that I did not attend Hogwarts when I was your age. I have no direct loyalties to any House, and all of you will be treated as equals depending entirely on your behavior and your performance. If you do well, you will be rewarded, if you do poorly due to inattention or your own… distractions, you will be punished. I will take points, I will give detention, depending on the offense," she said in a cool and measured voice as she looked around at them all. "No one is exempt," she said and glanced at the Slytherins and then the Gryffindors.

Scorpius exchanged a look with Blake, Albus and Halim. She seemed perfectly serious and he did not want to be the one to upset her and the others seemed to agree.

Professor Goldwyn seemed to have given them a moment to let her speech sink in and then she said, "Take notes," and launched into her lecture for the day. She talked at an even and measured pace but it didn't seem dull or boring, simply clear and succinct and that she was trying to ensure that no one missed anything.

Scorpius took copious amounts of notes, his desire to prove himself a good student and a good wizard showing itself as his hand flew over the parchment copying every word that Professor Goldwyn said. It seemed to go on forever, but then she finished and started them in the actual business of Potion making as she pointed her wand at the blackboard and the instructions for their potion were written there in a moment.

The class seemed to scramble a little in the change of objectives and Scorpius found himself being roughly pushed aside by Rose on his way to the ingredients lockers in the storeroom.

"Miss Weasley, you do not need to run or shove, you have more than enough time to complete the potion before class ends," Professor Goldwyn's voice called over the scrum. "A point will be taken from Gryffindor, be sure that it does not happen again," she said.

Scorpius was faced with Rose's steely glare as she collected her ingredients and returned to her table. "Great, _she_ shoves _me_ and _blames_ _me_ because the teacher has eyes like a hawk," Scorpius muttered under his breath to his friends.

"She's just being… well, I'll tell you some other time the stories I heard from my Mum and Dad about her parents. She's got the combination of their personalities, which… isn't exactly a good thing," Albus said in a low voice as he got his ingredients and then turned and knocked into Eldora Connor. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?" he asked quickly.

Eldora Connor simply looked at him in an irritable way and didn't say anything as she moved around him to get her supplies.

Albus frowned, confused, and rejoined his friends who had paused during his collision with Eldora Connor. "What's her issue?" he asked and only Scorpius heard.

"I think she's Muggleborn," Scorpius said quietly.

Albus's brow winged up. "Muggleborns get sent to Slytherin?" he asked sounding surprised.

"Yeah. It's rare but it happens," Scorpius replied. "Most of them hide it as long as possible," he murmured as he started the burner underneath his cauldron.

Blake snorted. "That is the dumbest thing I've heard in weeks. Doesn't that hat know that they're gonna get slaughtered?" he muttered.

Scorpius's brow went up a little. "Maybe, maybe not, but it's got nothing to do with blood, what the hat does, it's your personality and what's in your head," he said calmly as he took down the recipe for their potion in his notes and then began.

"It seems like an antiquated ritual to me," Halim said calmly having heard the majority of the conversation.

"They couldn't think of another way to Sort after the Battle of Hogwarts," Albus said quietly. "My Dad told me," he said when they looked at him skeptically.

"All these witches and wizards and they couldn't think of something better than an old Hat?" Blake asked.

"The Hat was Godric Gryffindor's," Albus said shiftily. "He created it more than a thousand years ago," he said quietly.

"Mr. Potter, please pay attention to your cauldron rather than your conversation," Professor Goldwyn said calmly from the front of the classroom.

Albus jumped slightly, nearly knocking over his cauldron, and then said, "Sorry Professor."

The four Gryffindors fell silent after that and began to make the potion they had been assigned. Scorpius had an idea while brewing his potion and he raised his hand. Professor Goldwyn walked over. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked.

"Er… are we allowed to… add anything different, other than what is up on the board, I mean?" Scorpius said quickly in a low voice.

Professor Goldwyn eyed him calmly. "Do you think something else is needed, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked.

"No. Not needed, necessarily, but the pomegranate seeds add bitterness to the potion, and I thought to counter it I could add some… well, some sugar," Scorpius said calmly and became perfectly aware that most of the class had heard him.

Professor Goldwyn eyed Scorpius for a moment. "Are you going to have these inventive fancies for all the potions, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked.

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know, Professor," he replied aware that she could probably take points if she wanted and there was nothing he could do. He was surprised however when she gave a small smile.

"The sugar would counter the bitterness in the potion, Mr. Malfoy given that you have made it properly. Five points to Gryffindor for being inventive. Add your sugar," Professor Goldwyn said and she walked away.

Scorpius started to grin a little bit as he got to his feet. Blake was gawping at him. Albus looked merely amused. Halim nodded. "Cool," Halim said and he turned back to his potion. Scorpius found a jar of plain old sugar in the store cupboard and he returned to his station with three teaspoons of it, one for each pomegranate seed, and as he looked up at the class he saw Rose glaring at him, again. He rolled his eyes and went back to his station, added the sugar and stirred it in before letting it simmer.

When they had finished they were instructed to scoop some of their potion into a flask, label it with their name, and bring it to Professor Goldwyn's desk. Scorpius's potion was a ruby red color that the instructions had described would be the end result and he was proud of himself. Halim's potion was a watery pink-red. Albus's was just… well, red, no ruby red, in fact it was a bit dull looking. Blake's potion was brown. He had no idea why. And when Scorpius reached the front of the class he saw Rose's potion was the closest in color to his.

"Perfect score, Mr. Malfoy, and an extra point for your inventive idea," Professor Goldwyn said as he handed her his potion.

"Thanks Professor, but it could have been a bust," Scorpius said with a sheepish look.

"Don't stifle your creativity, Mr. Malfoy," Goldwyn said sternly and then waved him off and took Rose's potion from her. "Ten points Miss Weasley," she said and marked it down.

Scorpius headed back to his station to clean up and rinse his cauldron thoroughly in the water that poured from the gargoyles mouth at the sink basin. Then he returned to his desk. "How'd you do?" he asked his friends as he stowed his notes in his bag.

"I got a nine of ten," Albus said with a shrug. "No big deal," he said putting his things away.

"I got a seven," Halim said and he smiled as he put his potions book into his bag.

"I got a five," Blake said irritably.

"Don't worry about it, it was the first one, you'll get better," Albus said with a smile and a clap on Blake's shoulder.

"I did just what the board said," Blake said annoyed. "And how'd you know that thing with the sugar?" he asked of Scorpius, more interested than hacked off.

Scorpius shrugged. "I… well, there are some potions sugar will make useless, like Wolfsbane Potion, there are some that it will change completely, and then there are some like the one we did where it'll help in a way that potion makers don't think about, taste," Scorpius said calmly.

"Neat," Halim said and he smiled.

"Homework, to be turned in next class, a foot long essay on the pomegranate and its use in Potion Making," Professor Goldwyn said loudly just before the bell signaling the end of class rang.

Scorpius smiled a little as Blake groaned. "Homework, come on," Blake said and he sounded annoyed.

"We've got all weekend to work on it," Scorpius said with a smile as they headed out of the classroom and up the corridor toward the entrance hall. Suddenly he was knocked sideways into the stone wall where his elbow smashed violently and he heard a sickening crack and barely bit back a cry of pain.

He looked up through bleary eyes to find Warrington was grinning maliciously from ahead of them, where he had turned around to wave and then laugh hysterically with Goyle and Harper.

"Watch where you're going next time, numbskull!" Blake shouted up the corridor angrily.

"Warrington did it on purpose," Albus said scowling in the general direction the Slytherin had gone.

"'Course he did," Scorpius said a little thickly, cradling his arm. "Buggering idiot," he muttered his arm throbbed and he felt like his eyes wanted to roll up into his skull.

Halim looked at his arm. "Mate, I think you need the hospital wing," he said sympathetically.

"What?" Blake said looking back at Scorpius. "I know that git shoved you hard, but did he break your arm?" he asked.

"Maybe. I don't know, but I think Halim is right," Scorpius said and he winced when Albus gently pushed against a bump near his elbow. "Bloody hell, Al, don't poke it," he said a little angrily.

"Sorry," Albus said sheepishly. "But yeah, that's not supposed to happen, mate. Let's get you to hospital," he said and the group who had been slowly moving toward the entrance hall headed up the stairs into the enormous sunlit chamber that could probably have held a large house.

They were crossing the entrance hall when Blake suddenly said, "Where is the hospital wing?"

Albus frowned. Scorpius shook his head. Halim shrugged.

"Boys, is there a particular reason you're standing in the middle of the entrance hall?" the familiar voice of Bernard Griswold said from the marble staircase.

"Could you tell us where the hospital wing is?" Halim asked calmly.

Griswold frowned. "Why? Are you hurt?" he asked calmly.

"Someone knocked me into a wall on our way up from Potions," Scorpius said feeling ill and a little weak-kneed. Scorpius could tell that Griswold didn't believe that he was that brittle of bone, but he led them up to the hospital wing.

Griswold stopped Scorpius before he could walk into the hospital wing. "If someone is bullying you, don't try and hide it or think it'll go away if you ignore it," he said a little grimly and then he let the boys walk into Madam Pomfrey's domain.

Madam Pomfrey asked once how Scorpius had been injured, didn't seem to buy it, but didn't ask any more questions. In about a minute, with a wave of her wand the pain in Scorpius's arm had disappeared but she put a brace of sorts on it beneath his robes. "It'll be more susceptible to injury for the next few hours, so be careful with it Mr. Malfoy," Pomfrey said and then waved them out of the hospital wing.

"I'd like to cream that git," Blake said irritably as they headed back to the Great Hall for lunch.

"Yeah, well, if you try he'll probably cream you, or get some other Slytherin to do it," Scorpius said calmly. "It's not like I wasn't expecting this. Don't worry about it, Blake," he said as they took seats at the Gryffindor table. He could just see Warrington miming something to some of the older Slytherins, including Thaddeus Macnair, who were grinning their approval and amusement.

"It's just… annoying," Blake muttered as he stabbed a kipper.

"There were a lot of things my Dad wasn't fond of when he was here, but the good generally was better than the bad, Blake. I'm sure things will cool off in time," Albus said with a shrug and then he started in on his lunch along with Halim.

"Yeah, I know. I just… wish they'd stop looking at Sam like he was… rubbish. He's not. He's a person just like you or me," Blake muttered and then looked at Scorpius apologetically.

Scorpius smiled wryly. "Well, they don't want to think that or it'd make it harder for them to look at me as rubbish. Blake, really, I'm fine. My arm is healed, I'm fine," he said calmly and then felt eyes staring at him and glanced along the table. Rose was glaring at him again. He smiled but he knew the expression was obviously sarcastic. Rose turned away to scowl and say something to Connie. "What did I do now?" he muttered and rolled his eyes when Rose continued to glower at him.

Albus looked. "Ignore her. She's just ticked you got a better grade in Potions today," Albus said and shrugged a bit a little grateful for the change in subject.

"Your cousin is mental, you know that don't you?" Blake said and he smiled in Rose's direction and waved.

Albus laughed as Rose turned away with a huff. "Who knows, maybe you'll best her at everything and amuse me to no end," Albus said grinning.

Scorpius shrugged. "I just… had an idea. It wasn't a big deal. I might be rubbish at everything else," he said and gave a sigh.

"Come on Sam. You won't be rubbish at everything else. You know what? Let's get out of here, go outside and get some fresh air?" Albus said with a bit of a grin.

"You know, that sounds like a really good idea," Scorpius said and Halim and Blake nodded their agreement to the scheme.

The four boys got up and walked out of the Great Hall, crossed the entrance hall and went out the oak front doors and onto the grounds. The sun was shining, although it was occasionally parsed by puffy white clouds, the grass was green and fresh smelling. It was just a good day to enjoy the air and the boys grinned at one another and wandered, exploring. They walked by Hagrid's Hut but there was a sign on the door that said he was with his brother Grawp until that evening; Albus had wanted to introduce everyone, but he could always do it next Friday when he had tea with the groundskeeper. They meandered over to the Quidditch pitch and Scorpius, Albus and Halim took turns explaining Quidditch to Blake who thought it sounded mad.

"Wait until you see a match! It's not like anything else," Scorpius said with a grin as they stood at the edge of the pitch, a few people were in the stands, a couple on brooms in the air seeming to be practicing to try out.

"Broomsticks, real actual flying broomsticks," Blake said and he watched the flying ones zoom across the pitch. "I thought that letter was mad, saying no first years were allowed broomsticks, this is ruddy marvelous!" he said grinning as he watched a girl who seemed to be practicing some maneuver on her own.

"We'll get flying lessons next week or so," Albus said amused by Blake's excitement.

"You going to tell him your Dad was the youngest seeker for any of the House teams in about a century when he was here?" Scorpius said smirking.

"Looks like I didn't have to," Albus said grinning.

"Your Dad was a what?" Blake asked, looking at Albus.

"He was a Seeker. He went after the little gold ball called the Snitch we were talking about that won the game, more often than not that is," Albus said with a sort of embarrassed smile.

"And he won more often than he lost," Scorpius said with a slight smile.

Albus shrugged. "He was a natural. I'm rubbish on a broom," he said.

"I doubt that," Scorpius said.

"Well, I think James and Lily got the talent on a broomstick. I'm too awkward for much of anything," Albus said matter-of-factly.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Al. Both your parents are great Quidditch players, your Mum was a professional," he said blandly.

"I'm kind of surprised you think so," Albus said quietly.

Scorpius's brow rose. "My Mum told me about your Dad and the games he played. The underhanded tactics my father resorted to out of jealousy. Ruddy hell, Al, my father dressed up like a bloody Dementor to try to scare your Dad out of the air. My father wasn't even that great a player in the first place," Scorpius said with a bit of annoyance.

"I have an idea," Blake said.

"Oh?" Halim asked.

"Let's stop assuming Sam likes his Dad… or rather shares his opinions. If he did, I don't think he'd be talking to us, do you?" Blake said calmly as he glanced at Albus.

Albus shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry Sam. I didn't mean… I just… It's hard for me to put myself in your shoes," he said quietly.

Scorpius smiled a bit. "It's not all bad. I just… don't much like the whole, I must be a Slytherin, I must hate Muggleborns, I must be a royal git thing that my father and grandfather have sort of… suggested, repeatedly, to me," he said with a sarcastic smirk.

"What about your grandmother?" Albus asked quietly.

Scorpius frowned a little. "She's… much less straightforward than my father and grandfather. I don't know whether she really actually cares what House I end up in at Hogwarts, or who I end up being so long as I don't make the huge mistakes my grandfather did, putting my father at risk," Scorpius said quietly. "I know she loves me, though, her and my Mum. My father… is Draco Malfoy," he muttered a little annoyed again.

"He can't still be as bad as the things my Uncle Ron said happened when they were kids," Albus said in a rather hopeful, pleading way.

Scorpius shrugged. "Sometimes he probably is, sometimes… not. I mean, he married my Mum. She was a Ravenclaw; her older sister was in Slytherin, but that's beside the point. She loves him. I'm usually sure that he loves her. But there's just this… way he looks at me sometimes, as if he wishes I were different," Scorpius said quietly.

"All right, already. I think we have explored the depths of Malfoy inequity as much as we need to right now, no offense Sam," Blake said with a bit of a frown.

"None taken. I don't really need to rehash my father with you lot. I think I know about as much as I need to about him," Scorpius said and they watched the people on broomsticks for a minute or two more and then as if by mutual understanding started exploring the grounds again.

They walked along the border of the Forbidden Forest, looking in as if they would see the unicorns, centaurs and acromantulas that were known to roam within the trees. Blake looked tempted to go exploring but Scorpius and Albus stopped him telling him that unless he could turn into an Animagus that he would likely get his arse in a sling and none of them knew any magic that could get him out of it.

Blake grinned. "Another time then," he said.

Scorpius snorted. Albus grinned a bit. "Maybe," Scorpius said and they wandered away from the dark of the trees again, moving near the lake and the large beech tree that stood a little way away from the edge of the lake.

Blake sat down beneath the tree. Albus looked at him, amused. "What? I want to sit down, sheesh," Blake said and pushed his bag off his shoulder.

Albus, Scorpius and Halim sat down beneath the beech tree looking out at the lake they had crossed the night before and the white tomb that marked Albus Dumbledore's grave. "I never thought I'd end up at Hogwarts. It seemed to take forever for me to turn eleven," Albus said with a bit of a sigh.

Scorpius smiled a little. "You know, before I got my letter I looked forward to coming, and then I got it, and remembered all the complications about being here," Scorpius said calmly. "But now that I'm here, I don't care about any of it. Warrington can shove me into walls everyday, I don't care," he said and he looked at Albus, Blake and Halim.

Albus grinned a bit. "I know the feeling," he said.

Blake hit him. Halim laughed and got hit too. "So, Sam, you going to help us with that Potions essay?" Blake asked, grinning.

Scorpius started laughing. "May as well, you'll just copy anyway," he said and he got hit by Blake pretending to be wounded.

Albus, Halim, Scorpius and Blake dissolved into highly amused laughter and then they got up and headed back into the school to go to Gryffindor Tower in a better mood than they had been since the Ravenclaws had muttered rude comments at Scorpius that morning.

They sat on the floor near the fire playing Exploding Snap. Blake nearly got his eyebrows singed off completely when he lost. Blake managed to steal a discarded issue of that morning's Daily Prophet and he read that while Halim read their Transfiguration text. Albus challenged Scorpius to a game of wizard's chess.

None of them noticed or cared about the stares of half the older students who didn't think it was right that Harry Potter's kid and Draco Malfoy's kid were friends.

The next morning at breakfast the boys were chatting amicably about what they wanted to do that weekend, other than Goldwyn's essay. Blake still wanted an excursion into the Forest, but he declined mentioning it because Albus and Scorpius were right about the lack of magical knowledge they had. Halim was about to suggest a sort of wizard's chess tournament between the four of them; Albus and Scorpius had come to a stalemate the night before, but there was a sudden flurry of Owls in front of Scorpius and Albus.

In the end when they'd got their breakfast mashed under owl feet and talons Scorpius realized that he had a letter from his mother and one from his grandmother. Albus realized he'd been written a joint letter by his parents, a letter by Uncle Ron and a completely different one by Aunt Hermione. Albus looked at Rose who turned pink, a letter in her hand as well, and he glowered at her. Albus's brother James walked over looking highly amused, "What's going on Al?" he asked.

"Rose is a nosy brat, that's what," Albus said irritably.

James laughed. "She's a girl, of course she's nosy. What do Mum and Dad have to say?" he asked.

Albus shrugged. He glanced at Scorpius who was staring at the envelopes in front of him with a rather horrified look. He frowned. "How'd your family find out?" he asked.

"I'm not sure I want to know," Scorpius said quietly.

"At least it's not a Howler," Halim said firmly.

"True," Scorpius said.

"I'll read mine, and then you read yours and we can figure out what's going on, yes?" Albus said and was amused when Scorpius shrugged and James leaned over his shoulder while he read his letter.

Dear Al,

Dad and I have had a rather, interesting, visit from your Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione based solely it seems on a letter from Rose. Don't go harassing your cousin, Al. According to Rose, Draco Malfoy's son has been made a Gryffindor and you are, "getting on grandly." Apparently there was considerable sarcasm in Rose's letter and Ron seems to think someone has hexed you, or Rose, or both. I love my brother, but he's always been paranoid and annoying.

If it is true and Scorpius Malfoy has come to Gryffindor, and you and he are friends, then I'm proud of you for looking past your Dad's history with his father. You are a good boy, and you have good judgment. If you think this boy is worth being friends with, then as far as I am concerned that is the end of that. I love you sweetheart. And your father wants to say something.

Al-

Congratulations on getting into Gryffindor, both you and the young Malfoy. I find myself reminded of my godfather, Sirius, I've told you about him before, that he came from a "Slytherin" family and went to Gryffindor; that he was your grandfather's closest friend, and a number of other stories. All I will say about your being friends with him is that as he's ended up in Gryffindor, he's not his father. And I'm proud of you. Never forget that and ignore your Uncle Ron. Do not blame Rose for this… bombardment. I think she's more annoyed that Scorpius bested her in Potions than your being friends with him. Good luck in classes, don't forget about tea with Hagrid next Friday. I love you.

Always, Our Love,

Your Mum & Dad

Albus laughed a little as he read the letter. Then he opened the one from Aunt Hermione.

Dear Al,

Rose has written to your Uncle and I saying that you have become friends with Draco Malfoy's son and that that same boy was Sorted into Gryffindor House. I want to tell you to ignore your Uncle. He has a long memory and a bad temper, which I feel that Rose has inherited. I was never fond of Draco Malfoy. You have heard Ron and your Dad teasing me about slapping him in third year. It did happen. But I am not going to hold Draco Malfoy's sins against his son, and I'm glad you aren't either. Don't let Ron convince you otherwise.

Congratulations on making Gryffindor! See you at Christmas, for sure.

With Love,

Aunt Hermione

Albus smiled a little. He remembered the story about his Aunt slapping Draco Malfoy. He sighed a little and opened the letter from Uncle Ron.

Al,

What are you thinking making friends with a Malfoy? And taking his side over Rose's! I don't know how you can. No Malfoy is worth your time. Get rid of him before he stabs you in the back.

Sincerely,

Uncle Ron

Albus looked at his Uncle's short but to the point letter and frowned. "My Uncle is a git," Albus said and he sighed and looked at Scorpius passing Blake and Halim the letters to peruse as they wished. "What's the verdict?" Albus asked.

Scorpius had watched Albus read the letters from his family and then call his uncle a git. He sighed quietly and opened the letter from his mother first.

_Dear Scorpius, _

_Your father and I have heard about the Sorting Hat putting you in Gryffindor. I am not sure what his true feelings on the matter are my dear, but I know if he were angry he would have written himself. As it is, he asked me to write. Perhaps he thought I would know better what to say. _

_As far as I'm concerned, I would have been proud of you even if you'd ended up a Hufflepuff, and although I am partial to my old House, Ravenclaw, I feel that you're probably safer outside Slytherin. I am so proud of you. I am sure your father is too, but he is as steeped in tradition as his father was before him. He'll get over the shock and be fine, and if he isn't, I'll hex him. I love you darling. And I've never had anything against Harry Potter or his family, so your friendship with his son Albus doesn't upset me. _

_Always & Forever, _

_Your Mother_

Scorpius sighed a little in relief. His father wasn't intending to come and drag him from the school and send him to Durmstrang and he was grateful. His mother did know his father better than he did, and if she said he wasn't angry then he wasn't. But he looked with some trepidation at the letter from his grandmother and then he opened it.

Dear Scorpius,

Your Grandfather and I have heard from your father about your appointment to Gryffindor House. Your grandfather Lucius is furious, but he seems to forget that our family does not hold the standing it did when Draco went to Hogwarts. I, personally, would rather you in any House other than Slytherin at this time, for your safety if nothing else. Lucius will come around; it will simply take some time. Don't worry.

I have known for some time that you have found life as a Malfoy less than pleasant, that you knew going to Hogwarts how you would be treated by both sides of the Dark Lord's war and yet you went, and did not run. If that is not the bravery that those Gryffindor's claim to love, I know not what bravery is. It is long past time that our family moved in a different direction, a different path through the woods, so to speak.

My time, your grandfather's time, even your father's time, is gone. It is your time now. Make what you can of it, so long as you are happy, Scorpius, I don't care what Lucius or Draco think. And I know your mother will support you regardless of House loyalties. I stopped caring about such trivial things the day of the Battle when I told the Dark Lord that Harry Potter was dead when he was not.

How that boy survived, I do not know, it was never explained, I don't rightly care. But since being a Gryffindor will bring you in contact with his children, I will say this; Harry Potter was an impertinent teenager, but he became someone the Wizarding community adores. He has likely raised his children right if only because of the scrutiny he has been afforded since he was a child.

I would rather you friends with his boys than the Goyle's or the Warrington's. I love you. Always.

Grandmother

Narcissa

Scorpius had expected his grandfather's anger, but he knew little of his grandmother's mind other than the bits and snippets she had told him about the War, the Dark Lord and Harry Potter and his father. And she had always sounded so distant, as if she hadn't been there, and what she said coincided with what the history books he read about the Battle of Hogwarts and Voldemort's defeat.

"Sam, what's the verdict?" Blake asked as he looked at Scorpius's rather impassive face.

"My Mum is cool. My father… wants to stand by tradition, but she thinks he isn't exactly angry. My Grandfather is furious though, and my Grandmother doesn't give a hoot what House I'm in, in fact she never wanted me in Slytherin to begin with," Scorpius said with some surprise.

"What about Al?" Halim asked.

"My Mum never had anything against him. My Grandmother would rather Al than Goyle or Warrington," Scorpius said and he turned and looked at Albus, he smiled.

Albus grinned. "Maybe things aren't as bad as you thought, Sam," Albus said.

Scorpius smiled a little. "I have only heard my father's opinion second hand," he said quietly. "But I don't care what he thinks. What about your family, Al?" he asked.

"Mum and Dad and Aunt Hermione do not care that we're friends. In fact, they've all pretty much said they're proud of me for looking past our family history. My Uncle Ron, though, he's another matter entirely. Seems to think you'll stab me in the back," Albus said and he rolled his eyes. "Mum says he's always been paranoid, so I don't care much about what he thinks," he said with a grin.

Blake grinned and then turned it into a sappy smile. "Alright, we're all set to take over the world now, we've a Potter and a Malfoy, they shall prevail," Blake said dramatically. Halim smirked a bit and hit Blake on the back of the head.

"Git," Albus and Scorpius said as one then started laughing. Halim and Blake shortly joined in and James Potter who had heard pretty much everything, ruffled his brother's hair and walked away to rejoin his own friends. Albus, Scorpius, Blake and Halim left breakfast grinning and headed back to Gryffindor Tower. The crisis was over; everything was well with the world, at least as far as the four of them cared.

Rose Weasley watched them leave and glowered as they went annoyed that her letter to her parents had done nothing to change anything. She was absolutely convinced that Scorpius Malfoy would ruin her cousin Albus.


	3. Bad News for Broomsticks

_Author's Note: Sorry that it took so long for this to be posted. I hope you enjoy it! Please review! - Frankie_

**Bad News for Broomsticks**

The week rolled on for Blake, Albus, Scorpius and Halim. Scorpius helped them with the essay on pomegranates on Sunday having finished his Saturday night when Halim and Blake were playing Wizard's chess and Albus was writing a letter to his parents. Blake had more trouble than the others and admitted that at home when he'd tried to help his Dad cook dinner that he'd nearly melted a pot once and had burned nearly everything else until his Dad had banned him from the kitchen calling him a fire hazard. The story had made the boys laugh and caused more Gryffindors to either wonder about Scorpius or write him off as non-threatening until further notice. No one had ever seen a Malfoy look so cheerful.

Scorpius was trying to explain how he'd known the bit about the sugar when he felt like he was being watched and he turned and looked and met the narrowed blue eyes that were glowering at him yet again. "In the name of Merlin's Pants," Scorpius muttered and went back to trying to explain about the sugar when Blake started to smirk broadly and Halim sat up and said, "Incoming."

The four boys paused in their discussion and looked up at Rose Weasley as she stalked across the common room toward them. Albus sighed. "What do you want, Rose?" he asked calmly although he nearly couldn't conceal his frustration with his cousin whom he had formerly considered a fairly rational person who could think logically about any given situation.

"I can't believe you aren't doing your own work, Albus," Rose said tartly and did not just glare at Scorpius or Albus but the other two boys as well.

Albus blinked. "What?"

"You're copying off of Malfoy," Rose said angrily and she looked furious.

"I'm not copying, Rose," Albus said firmly.

"Then they are," Rose said and gestured to Blake and Halim.

"Oh go away," Blake said and rolled his eyes. "No one cares what you think," he said and then shrugged in Albus's direction when his friend frowned at him.

"I swear I'll tell Professor Goldwyn!"

"For Merlin's sake, Weasley, what is your problem? Are you worried that I'm helping them to get better marks than you, or what?" Scorpius said irritably unable to keep his opinion to himself.

Albus's eyes widened. "Rose-"

"Shut up, Al," Scorpius said and he looked at Rose. "This is between the two of us, I'd rather not cause problems between you and your family," he said calmly.

"You smug, arrogant git! What makes you think I care what _your_ grades are?!" Rose snapped tartly.

"You're the one that came over here, Weasley. I'm not the one who glowers across the room and makes a rather large and loud scene in the middle of the common room… So the question is, if you don't care what our grades are, what is your problem?" Scorpius said coolly and his eyes narrowed.

"I don't want my cousin getting in trouble for cheating that's what!"

"I think we've fairly well established that Al has done his own essay, Weasley… Or would you like to read both his and mine to check for similarities? Oh, wait, wouldn't that be cheating?" Scorpius said and a hint of sarcasm crept into his tone.

A few second year girls giggled from nearby. Rose blushed scarlet, turned on her heel and stalked away.

Scorpius watched her go feeling both annoyed and a little let down, although he wasn't sure why. He ignored the second years, ran a hand through his pale hair and looked back at his friends. He knew Albus was embarrassed and torn. "Look, mate, er… it might be best if… that happens again if you don't say anything. I don't want to cause trouble with your family, Al, and it doesn't seem like your cousin is going to let up about… me," Scorpius said calmly.

Albus shook his head. "She's wrong, Sam. Completely wrong about you and she's going to be like this until something serious happens to make her realize you aren't the next Voldemort incarnate or something else ridiculous like that," Albus said quietly.

"And I don't think she wants you to continue to get good marks, Sam. I think that's what this was about more than anything else," Halim said calmly.

"She needs to mind her own business. She's got friends of her own, why does she have to come and hassle Sam?" Blake said and he sounded a bit irritated.

Albus ruffled his hair and turned a bit pink. "I think she's angry with me. We were… we are the closest in age and our families are always together… it was natural for the two of us to be close. My little sister is close with her brother, Hugo, they're the same age…" he trailed off and shrugged.

"I know she's your cousin and everything but… do you think…" Blake started and then looked a bit grossed out. "Nevermind, I'm not going to finish that question because I do not want to know the answer."

Halim burst out laughing at the look on Blake's face and the implications about Rose and Albus. Albus hit Halim in the shoulder. Blake smirked and started laughing too. Scorpius shook his head at them and sighed a little but he smiled. "The lot of you are mad."

"Course we are, we're friends with you aren't we?" Blake said and he grinned. Scorpius threw his quill at him and Blake dodged it and started to laugh again.

Crisis averted, Albus started grinning as well but he dragged a hand through his hair. "What do you say we get out of here? She's still glaring at me and I'd rather not be in firing range right now," Albus said calmly.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Scorpius said and internally he agreed with Albus.

The four boys got to their feet lugging their bags along with them and left the common room. They ended up exploring the library at Halim's request although Blake almost got them all thrown out when he nearly knocked over a bookcase and Madam Pince threw a fit about her precious books.

Scorpius managed to convince Madam Pince that Blake would be more careful and that no harm would come to her books. She glowered at them but allowed them to remain in the library. The four boys found a mostly secluded table to sit at and finish their pomegranate essays in peace. Scorpius doodled on a scrap of parchment while Halim and Blake continued to work on their essay and Albus finished the conclusion to his own.

Albus put his essay into his bag and sighed a bit as he looked around. "Something wrong?" Scorpius asked calmly and Blake looked up from his essay. "You keep working," he said to Blake. Blake stuck his tongue out Scorpius who grinned a bit. He looked back at Albus.

Albus shrugged. "Rose has always been the more bookish one of the two of us, but… this place is actually kind of cool," he said and smiled a little embarrassed.

Scorpius smiled. "I get that," he said.

Blake smirked.

Halim rolled his eyes at Blake. "Take the Mickey at your own risk. Some of these books probably have really cool spells in them that these two would be more likely to find than you would, Blake," Halim said calmly.

Blake pretended to be bored but the thought was actually a little intriguing. "But would either of them be able to pull them off? We've had one class so far," Blake said pointedly.

Albus looked at Scorpius and grinned. "What do you say?" he asked calmly.

Scorpius looked thoughtful. "We could find something excellent," Scorpius said in a lazy sort of tone.

"We could," Albus agreed.

"Go on then," Blake said sounding amused.

"You'd better keep at that essay, Blake," Scorpius said calmly but he looked pointedly at Blake.

Blake rolled his eyes. "Get going already," he muttered.

Albus and Scorpius got to their feet and by mutual agreement went together into the stacks of books with faded and obscure titles, the bright covers of new books and the dingy ones of old books scarred from years of use. They were turning a corner when Albus collided with someone slightly shorter than him with long dark hair. They both stumbled. Scorpius managed to catch Albus before his ass met the stone floor but the other person wasn't as lucky. The books they were carrying tumbled to the floor with heavy smacks and they rammed into the stone wall.

Albus quickly gained his feet again. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?" he said and he tried to help the girl, since he'd realized she was in fact a girl, get to her feet.

"Get the hell off of me you incompetent moron!" the girl shouted and pushed Albus rather violently so that Scorpius had to help him keep his feet again.

"I'm sorry! I didn't see you!" Albus said trying to apologize again.

The girl pushed her hair out of her face to reveal furious hazel eyes that looked almost gold as they shone with her anger. "That much is obvious," Eldora Connor snapped as she glared at them.

"Come on Connor, it was an accident," Scorpius said calmly.

"I do not care Malfoy! I really couldn't care less," Eldora snapped furiously and she stooped to pick up her books.

"Let me help you-"

"I do not need help from the likes of you, Potter!" Eldora snapped and pushed Albus's hands away from the books. She quickly stood up and stalked away while the two Gryffindors stared after her.

A few older students peered out of the rows they were in, in the direction of Scorpius and Albus. They heard rapid footsteps and remembered their earlier confrontation with the Librarian they hurried away from the scene of the crime and back to the table they'd been at with Blake and Halim.

"What is wrong?" Halim asked as he looked at them.

"Al ran into Eldora Connor," Scorpius said calmly.

"I didn't mean too! I didn't see her!" Albus said sounding both annoyed and apologetic.

"Neither did I, to be perfectly honest, but…" Scorpius trailed off and shrugged. "Is it really that big a deal?" he asked. "She'll probably forget about it in a few days."

"You obviously don't know girls," Albus said irritably. "They have a longer memory than anyone and if you make them seriously angry they're more likely to hate you than accept an apology," he muttered.

"So what's the big deal?" Blake asked frowning as he looked at Albus.

"She's already hated by everyone in her House because she's muggleborn, I didn't want her to think the rest of the school hated her too. But it seems like she's taking me running into her twice now as a personal offense or something," Albus muttered and he ruffled his hair a little bit.

"What? Do you _like_ her or something?" Blake asked with an amused smirk.

"No!" Albus protested. His cheeks went a little pink.

Blake started to laugh.

"Blake, leave him alone," Scorpius said calmly. "He's just trying to be nice to her, that's all," he said to intervene.

"It doesn't look like she wants anyone to be nice to her," Halim said calmly as he looked at Scorpius.

"Would you four stop talking about my sister, please?" a much taller boy who towered over their table behind Blake said calmly with slightly narrowed eyes that he shared with his sister.

"Eldora Connor is your sister?" Scorpius asked calmly.

"Yes," he said calmly.

"Would you tell her I really did not mean to run into her?" Albus asked sounding really apologetic.

"You ran into her?" he asked and his brow arched slightly.

"Yes. It was an accident," Albus said quietly.

The older boy sighed a little. "Elle has always been a bit touchy about her personal space. I'll talk to her, but there's no guarantee she'll listen," he said and hitched his bag up on his shoulder. "I'm Perry Connor, by the way, sixth year Ravenclaw," he added as a sort of afterthought before he walked away from the four first years to rejoin his friends.

"He seemed nice enough," Scorpius said calmly.

"Well he's mature… maybe he knows something we don't. He is her brother after all," Halim suggested.

Albus moaned miserably. "This is a disaster," he muttered.

"Don't make such a big deal of it, she's just a girl," Blake said with a little bit of amusement.

Albus shrugged and tried not to make it seem like he cared. Scorpius cottoned on to Albus's embarrassment and he changed the subject. "Did you finish your essay yet, Blake?" Scorpius asked calmly.

Blake made a rather rude hand gesture and Scorpius started to laugh. Halim joined in a moment later and Albus did shortly after that although he was grateful that Scorpius had changed the subject and his thoughts didn't completely leave his difficulties with Eldora Connor.

Blake and Halim eventually finished their essays and then the boys went up and down the aisles of books looking for anything interesting. Scorpius made a quick list of the books that were really interesting to them for future reference and then they headed back to the common room since the library was closing.

Monday morning dawned with thick gray clouds on the horizon that didn't bode well as they rolled closer and closer to the castle. The boys headed down to breakfast together and got lost on the third floor when the staircase changed and sent them in the opposite direction than where they were headed. It took them almost ten minutes to find a staircase and then another five minutes to get back on track to the Great Hall.

"This place is mental," Blake said when they found themselves in the entrance hall to their intense relief.

"Yeah well, we'll get used to it eventually," Albus said as he rearranged his robes because his bag over his shoulder had disarranged them. As they passed the Slytherin table to several low hisses and boos Albus found he was unconsciously looking for Eldora.

"Just like I'll get used to Warrington trying to smash me into walls," Scorpius said with a bit of a grin as he looked at Albus who smiled and then laughed. Blake snickered and Halim rolled his eyes as they reached the Gryffindor table and sat down to have breakfast.

They had been sitting down for a little more than five minutes when the post arrived and dozens of owls flew into the Great Hall and flew around trying to find the students that they were delivering to. Albus saw his family owl fly over his brother James's head, drop a letter, and then fly to him and drop another in his lap before flying off.

Albus looked at James who shrugged slightly and then opened his letter. Albus picked his up and cracked the wax seal before he quickly opened the letter and found a short note from his father that read:

_Dear Al,_

_I'm writing because something happened in Hogsmeade this weekend to one of your teachers. It's a bit suspicious, but I don't want you and your brother, or your new friends going out and sticking your nose in. I know how tempting it might seem to go about investigating things but your Mum and I don't want you to get hurt._

_I'm serious, Al. If you see something weird or suspicious happening at Hogwarts tell one of your teachers… Neville and Hagrid will listen, even if you think they won't. I don't know what is going on, but there is certainly something happening right now that I really don't want you getting all mixed up in. I love you. I'm just looking out for your best interests._

_There will probably be some kind of announcement about what happened. It will be thin on details, but Al, please don't go trying to find out what's going on. I've told James to look out for you and Rose and Neville will probably have his eyes on you and your friends. I can't tell you what not to do; it will probably make you want to do it more. Just be careful, Al._

_Love,_

_Dad_

Albus frowned slightly as he looked at the letter. He glanced up and looked down the table at his brother. James was looking skeptical but he shrugged and tucked the letter into his bag. Albus looked back at his friends who were looking curious. "Apparently something happened in Hogsmeade this weekend," Albus said quietly.

"What sort of something?" Halim asked.

"If Al's Dad was involved then it was probably something Dark," Scorpius said quietly.

"What?" Blake said sounding curious.

"I don't know. Dad said we'll be told a little and he doesn't want us sticking our noses in trying to investigate," Albus said with a slight shrug.

Scorpius frowned slightly and he looked across at the Slytherin table, scanning quickly for those members of the House that he knew were involved in the Dark Arts. He looked intently and then looked at Albus. "No one's acting smug… at least no more than usual," he said calmly.

"What does that mean?" Blake asked.

"Either they weren't told that something was going to happen-"

"Or this is only the beginning," Scorpius said quietly.

Albus and Scorpius exchanged dark looks.

"The beginning of what?" Blake asked, frowning.

"Merlin only knows," Scorpius said quietly.

The four boys finished their breakfast and headed to their first class of the morning; History of Magic on the first floor. The boys walked in and sat down. They were shortly joined by Rose and her friends who took the seats in the front of the classroom. When Professor Binns, the only ghost teacher in the school, came sailing in from behind the blackboard most of the students jumped.

"Weird," Blake said rather loudly.

Albus and Scorpius snickered.

"Shut up," Blake muttered.

Professor Binns started his lecture, never varying his tone or pitch. Soon most of the class had fallen asleep due to his droning; it was like being in a beehive. Scorpius managed to stay awake and take notes, as did Rose who glowered at Scorpius once from the front of the classroom. Scorpius ignored her and continued to take notes although it did get to the point where he had trouble concentrating and his notes were barely legible.

When class ended Rose glowered at Albus with a 'you-had-better-not-copy-his-notes' sort of look on her face. Albus ignored her and he rubbed gunk out of his eyes as he joined Scorpius, Halim and Blake on their way out of the classroom.

"How did you stay conscious, Sam?" Blake asked with a yawn.

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know. I figured one of us should stay awake. It's not like Rose would let any of us copy. I think she's the only other person who managed to stay awake for the whole class," Scorpius said calmly as they headed down the stairs into the entrance hall and started for the doors. Their next class was Herbology in the greenhouses with Professor Longbottom.

"You're going to let us look at your notes right?" Blake asked with a grin.

Scorpius laughed. "Would it encourage you to stay awake if I said no?" Scorpius asked grinning as they started across the grounds.

"Probably not," Blake admitted.

Halim snorted and the other three started to laugh out right.

"Come on, before Al's cousin decides to nark on us," Blake said with a hint of sarcasm when he noticed Rose and her friends coming up behind them.

Albus sighed a bit and the four of them set off at a little faster rate when a rumble of thunder echoed in the distance. None of them wanted to be soaking wet. Blake opened the door to greenhouse one and they filed in.

"Good afternoon boys, please take a seat," Professor Longbottom said when he looked up at the opening door.

"Good afternoon, Nev… I mean, Professor," Albus said and he turned a bit pink.

Professor Longbottom smiled with good humor. "Where's Miss Weasley, I would have thought you two would have been as inseparable at Hogwarts as you are at home," he said with a slight smile.

"Rose doesn't…" Albus turned pink and trailed off.

"She doesn't like me, Sir," Scorpius said calmly as he sat between Albus and Blake.

"Ron's influence, I imagine… Regardless… Good afternoon girls, please take a seat," Professor Longbottom said and a flicker of several unidentifiable emotions crossed his face before he smiled again at the girls who walked into the greenhouse.

"Good afternoon, Professor," the girls intoned and they found seats at the tables that were covered in various trays. The girls sat across from the boys and Rose averted her eyes.

"I hope you are all having a good day, although I have an announcement that is probably going to disappoint several of you," Professor Longbottom said and he dusted soil off his hands on his robes.

Albus held his tongue but noticed that Neville Longbottom looked at him a little longer than most of the other students. He tried not to smile but look interested in the announcement.

Longbottom took a breath and let it out. "There was an incident in Hogsmeade this weekend involving your Flying Instructor, I'm not going to tell you what because I don't want certain members of this class to go poking around like I'm sure they want to," he said calmly although he sounded a bit like Professor McGonagall as he spoke and pinned Albus and Scorpius with a look. "To make it short, your Flying Lessons that were supposed to take place Thursday afternoon have been postponed indefinitely," he said calmly and paused.

The inevitable protests arose. Blake said loudly, "What?!" Scorpius groaned. Albus sighed, almost with relief and Halim seemed perfectly indifferent as he shrugged. Rose smirked. Amelia Berkeley and Connie Creevey looked rather disappointed and Breana said loudly, "Damnit."

"Miss Donnelly, please watch your language," Professor Longbottom said calmly and he held up his hands to stem the questions that erupted from a few of them. "Please, I can't answer most of your questions. For one thing, I only know that Ms. Jenkins was taken to St. Mungo's on Sunday morning when it was determined that it was the safest place for her for the time being. I do not know what happened exactly, either, only that she was found unconscious outside The Three Broomsticks," he said calmly as he looked at them.

"Why couldn't someone else give us Flying Lessons?" Breana Donnelly asked sounding disgruntled.

Professor Longbottom sighed. "I don't know. The Board of Governors decided to approach this with a wait and see attitude and the Headmistress, although she disagrees with the delay, can't hire another Flying Instructor without approval from the Board… So, it's a vicious circle," he said calmly as he looked at them.

"A circle of ineptitude," Scorpius muttered.

"Mr. Malfoy, please," Professor Longbottom said pointedly.

"Sorry, sir," Scorpius said and looked moderately apologetic.

"I can't believe that someone else didn't offer to teach us, sir," Albus said as he looked at Professor Longbottom.

Longbottom smiled. "Nothing gets past you, Al. Yes, your father offered to conduct the lessons himself, but again the Board voted against that measure… No, I do not know why. No, I can't tell you when they will be rescheduled, only that they will be," he said calmly although he sounded a little bit amused. "Now, I'm afraid we have to get to _our_ lesson despite the enthralling topic of flying," he said with a smile.

A few of the students laughed, mainly the boys, although Amelia and Connie thought it was funny too.

"All right. This is Herbology, can any one tell me what Herbology is?" he asked calmly.

Scorpius and Rose raised their hands as one but Professor Longbottom saw Rose first. "Rose," he said calmly.

"Herbology is the study of flora and fauna, their magical properties and how they're used in various aspects of magic," Rose said rather primly.

"Yes. A very thorough explanation," he said calmly. "Now, I have a few rules about my class, one of them is that you are allowed to swear if the Venomous Tentacula tries to sneak up on you, but otherwise I'd rather you didn't because I generally take it as a sign you need help or have injured yourself," he said as he looked around at them and pointed at the plant that was sneaking down near Blake's shoulder. Blake shoved the plant away.

"Second, if you don't know what a plant is, DO NOT under any circumstances TOUCH IT. Last year a first year almost got throttled by some Devil's Snare I had set aside for a different lesson," he said and he pointed at a plant that looked like coiled and lazy tendrils about the size of ones thumb. "There are dangerous things in here, even if they look perfectly harmless, although the more dangerous plants are in greenhouse three which is locked at all times," he said firmly.

"Third, if you need help, please ask. I get a little absorbed when I'm teaching and may not notice if you simply raise your hand and wait for me to notice," he said with a small smile. "The exceptions to that rule are when I am giving a lecture," he said calmly when he saw Blake looking a little mischievous. "Which I am going to give now. Please take notes," he said with a smile and he launched into a lecture about the basics of Herbology as the students were scrambling for parchment and ink.

It didn't seem very long until the bell rang and the class headed back to the castle for lunch. "Professor Longbottom is cool," Blake said with a grin as they were walking through the grounds on the way back to the oak front doors. The thick gray clouds hung overhead threatening to pour rain down across the grounds.

"Yeah, he is," Albus agreed with a smile.

"I wonder if he'll stop calling Sam Mr. Malfoy," Halim asked with a bit of a grin.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I don't mind. It's only the first day of class anyway," he said calmly as he looked at Halim.

"I could talk to him, if you want," Albus said calmly.

Scorpius shook his head. "Nah. That's okay. To be honest, if he starts calling me Sam on his own it will tell me that he's stopped thinking I'm a Malfoy," he said calmly.

"You _are_ a Malfoy," a clipped voice said from behind them.

The four boys turned feeling startled and saw a man probably about Professor Longbottom's age. He was tall and pale, slightly on the thin side, with short dark blonde hair. His eyes were narrowed in Scorpius's direction. He looked sour.

"Who're you?" Blake asked with a little attitude.

The man's brow rose slightly. "Obviously you are _not_ observant," he said coldly.

"Professor, I would appreciate it if you didn't insult my friends," Scorpius said calmly.

The man smiled, but it was sour and rather smug. "Perhaps you aren't as stupid as your father, Malfoy," he said coldly and he walked through their little group, almost pushing Halim over. He stalked across the grounds and up to the castle.

"Who was that git?" Blake asked sounding annoyed.

"Professor Nott," Scorpius said calmly. "His father is in Azkaban… I think. He might have died by now," he said awkwardly.

"You mean that bloke is our Transfiguration teacher?!" Blake asked sounding annoyed.

"Yes, and Head of Slytherin House," Scorpius said quietly and the four of them started to walk back up to the castle again. Thunder rolled through the clouds above them and lightning flashed but didn't strike the ground.

"Wait a minute," Blake said quickly. "That guy is a Slytherin, the son of a former Death Muncher and he's _teaching_? _Here_?"

"Yes. There was never any proof he even shared his father's beliefs let alone that he was a direct supporter of Voldemort," Albus said calmly.

"Was he one of them?" Halim asked quietly.

"No one knows," Albus said and glanced at Scorpius.

Scorpius held up his hands innocently. "My Father doesn't do a whole lot of talking about that period in his life, and no one else has mentioned anything about Theodore Nott within my hearing," he said quickly.

"I have a question," Halim said calmly as they continued walking.

"Yeah?" Scorpius said as he looked at Halim.

"What was Professor Nott doing coming out of the Forbidden Forest?" Halim asked quietly and they stopped and looked back to where the Slytherin Head of House had come upon them it was only a few yards from the trees that swayed ominously at the edge of the grounds.

Scorpius and Albus exchanged a significant look but said nothing as they walked back up to the castle. They were unaware that the girls had heard part of their conversation about Professor Nott as they sat down to lunch at the Gryffindor table. They felt as if they were being watched by someone at the teachers table, but when they looked they could pinpoint no obvious suspect; even Professor Nott appeared to be in conversation with Professor Flitwick.

Scorpius, Albus, Halim and Blake took seats in the Transfiguration classroom after lunch and devoutly hoped that their confrontation with Professor Nott wouldn't affect his attitude toward them during class. But given that he was the Slytherin Head of House and they were Gryffindors… they weren't likely to be treated fairly and they knew it. They spoke to each other calmly and watched as the class filed in; four Hufflepuff boys entered the classroom talking happily about their previous class, Potions. The Gryffindor girls filed in talking amicably to each other about what they expected from Professor Nott. The Hufflepuff girls came in last looking highly amused, the Sinclair twins identically so and they sat down near the Gryffindor girls.

In a few moments Professor Nott stalked into the classroom wearing black robes and his sour expression. He took roll call. He pointedly ignored the looks that the Hufflepuffs sent toward Albus and Scorpius when they realized they were sitting next to one another. And when he was finished he put the class list aside and simply looked at them all with his sour expression, his nose twitched as if he smelled something he greatly disliked and then he began to speak.

"I am Professor Nott and this is Transfiguration. This subject is difficult. I will not lie to you about that. If you do not have a perfect understanding of the principles involved you're either going to hurt yourself or someone else, or nothing at all will come out the end of your wand," he said coolly as he looked around at them all.

"For your sake, I hope the latter is true," he said and he smiled sourly. "Any one who fools around in this classroom will leave and they will not return. This is your only warning," he said blandly.

Scorpius and Albus exchanged a slightly relieved look.

"Mr. Potter, give me the definition of what Transfiguration is," Professor Nott said sharply.

Albus jolted in his seat and looked at Nott, his cheeks slightly pink as the Hufflepuff girls giggled. "Er… it's how you turn something into something else," Albus replied.

Nott smirked. "Something into something else, that's amazing. It really sums up the subject don't you think?" he said coolly. "Did you even read your textbook?"

Albus blushed furiously. He had read his textbook, but it was rather hard to come up with a coherent thought when you're practically jumped at by the teacher.

Nott rolled his eyes and looked at Scorpius. "Do you have an explanation of Transfiguration, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked coldly.

"Transfiguration is the process of turning one thing into another thing. You have to understand what you're trying to do mentally or you may as well not wave your wand in the first place. You can turn an inanimate object into another inanimate object-"

"I don't need a recitation of the textbook, Mr. Malfoy," Nott snapped coldly.

"I'm sorry, sir, I was simply quoting the introduction to the _Beginners_ _Guide_ _to_ _Transfiguration_ in the hope that it would help the class, sir," Scorpius said calmly and sounded mildly apologetic. Blake snorted and then covered his mouth and nose quickly.

"I know what you were doing, Malfoy," Nott snapped angrily. "A point from Gryffindor for your attitude," he said and then he stalked to the front of the classroom.

Scorpius was internally furious but he didn't dare protest. He knew that it was likely he'd get more than just a point taken from Gryffindor if he tried to say anything else that might annoy Professor Nott.

No one said a thing as Professor Nott rounded on them, glowering in the direction of the Gryffindor boys. "Write this down," he snapped and launched into a lecture as everyone scrambled for parchment and ink. A series of complicated charts covered in squiggles and strange symbols appeared on the blackboard and Professor Nott spent a good deal of time explaining each symbol and squiggle, whether their placement on the chart influenced the effects that a certain spell would produce and essentially confused the whole class senseless. Even Scorpius who had read his Transfiguration text twice was more than a little confused.

Ten minutes before the end of class and after Professor Nott had finished his lecture; he handed out a match to each student and told them the spell they were to use to attempt to turn it into a needle. It was quite clear that Professor Nott did not expect anyone to get anywhere close to turning the match into a needle.

Scorpius was quietly concentrating on his match, the wand movement, and the effect he wanted to have happen to it. The match thinned and took on a vaguely glossy look but the match was still distinctly a match. Albus turned his match into a toothpick rather than a needle which prompted a snort of derision from Professor Nott. Blake stared at his match with narrowed eyes as he muttered the spell and waved his wand; nothing much happened… at least until the head of the match flared and caught on fire.

"Ack!" Blake said loudly and beat at the lit match with his hand.

"Idiot!" Nott snapped and with a wave of his wand the match simply disappeared.

Blake looked at the place where the match had been and then at Professor Nott. He looked sheepish.

"Are you injured?" Nott snapped irritably.

"I'm fine, sir," Blake said calmly.

"Then do not do that again," Nott said and glowered at him and then looked at Halim. "Well?" he snapped.

Halim held out his hand and settled in the middle of his palm was a perfectly formed, shiny silver needle with a hole in one end and a point on the other. He simply looked at Professor Nott while the teacher scowled down at the match in his hand. Grudgingly it seemed, Professor Nott said, "Five points to Gryffindor for completing the task before the end of class."

Halim smiled. "Thank you, Professor," he said calmly.

Professor Nott scowled even more and turned away to harass someone else.

Scorpius, Albus and Blake stared at Halim. "How did you do that?" Blake asked sounding miserable.

Halim shrugged. "It just… made sense, I guess, when he told us the spell," Halim said calmly and without any particularly proud or smug inflections in his voice.

"Good job, Halim," Scorpius said with a smile.

"Thanks Sam," Halim replied with a smile and a nod of his head.

The bell rang signaling the end of class. "Homework! Give me a foot on this spell and then explain why your attempt did or did not work! Due Thursday!" Nott snapped before anyone could flee the room.

Blake grumbled miserably as he put his notes into his bag. They already looked like meaningless scribbles to him. "I am a rubbish wizard," Blake muttered.

"Blake, you are not a rubbish wizard," Albus insisted as he packed his things away.

"I can't brew a potion. I can't turn a match into a needle. What nutter put me on the list for Hogwarts?" Blake said laconically.

"You don't get put on the list. You get born and your name goes down if you're a witch or wizard, if you aren't your name isn't on the list," Scorpius said calmly. "Besides, maybe Charms or Defense Against the Dark Arts will be your forte," he said with a slight smile.

"He's right Blake. We all have particular areas where we excel and those that we may or may not get immediately," Albus said with an encouraging smile.

"I guess we're going to find out, aren't we?" Blake said sounding rather depressed as the four of them left the Transfiguration classroom and headed for the stairs.

Halim sighed a bit as they walked up the stairs. "Blake, I'll help you out with the Transfiguration work. Besides, I get the impression we're all going to be relying on one another to get through this stuff," he said calmly as they headed up another flight of stairs and reached the third floor.

"Where are we going?" Blake asked.

"Charms… I think it's that way," Albus said calmly and he pointed along the corridor that led toward the Hospital Wing.

"Are you sure?" Scorpius asked.

"No. But it's only our second day of classes. I think most of the teachers are going to be a little lenient. Come on," Albus said and the four of them headed down the corridor toward the Hospital Wing.

As it turned out, Albus was right and they reached the classroom just as the first year Ravenclaw boys did. One of them had dark red hair, two had different shades of brown, one dark the other light and the fourth boy was blonde. Albus hung back slightly and Scorpius did as well, Blake and Halim pausing.

"Is something wrong?" Scorpius asked.

Albus shrugged. "No. Not really," Albus said.

Scorpius frowned. "You sure?"

"Brian Corner," Albus said quietly.

"What's wrong with him?" Blake asked, frowning.

"Nothing is wrong with him. I just… heard something about his Dad at home once," Albus said and he sounded awkward.

"What sort of something?" Halim asked.

"It had to do with my Mum. She was having some kind of argument with my Uncle. I have no idea what about, but my Uncle implied something that had my Mum positively furious. My Dad had to break it up… my Uncle wasn't around for like two months," Albus said quietly.

Scorpius frowned.

"Your Uncle sounds like an ass," Blake said bluntly.

Albus stared at Blake as Scorpius and Halim started to laugh and then he started to smile. He ruffled his hair. "He is, a bit, yeah," Albus said.

"Don't you dare insult my Dad, Albus Potter!" Rose Weasley erupted loudly from right behind them.

Albus jumped. "Rose-"

"I knew it! You're turning into him!"

"You leave Sam out of this, Rose," Albus snapped angrily.

"Al-"

"No! She's been eavesdropping on us. She doesn't even know what I'm talking about and she assumes that it's your fault!"

"Blake, Halim, take him inside," Scorpius said calmly and the two boys practically dragged Albus into the Charms classroom. He eyed Amelia, Breana and Connie pointedly and they scampered into the classroom leaving him with Rose.

"What are you going to do, Malfoy?!" Rose snapped.

"I have tried to be nice. I have tried to keep Al out of this… bollocks between you and me. Clearly it isn't working, so just say all the things you want to say and have it out. Then leave Al alone," Scorpius said coolly.

"He's my cousin!"

"And you say that like he belongs to you! For Merlin's sake he's got the right to make friends with whoever he wants and he shouldn't have to defend himself from his own damn family! I don't really care what you think I'm going to do to corrupt Al, but you don't know me, Weasley," Scorpius said in a cold voice. "You know nothing about me except the possibly exaggerated stories that your father tells about my father," he said quietly. "I think it should be quite obvious by now that I am not Draco Malfoy, Weasley," he said in a pointed tone and then he turned and walked toward the classroom door.

"Prat!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "That's real mature," he muttered and he went into the classroom where the tiny Professor Flitwick was headed toward the door.

"Mr. Malfoy, is something the matter?" Flitwick asked his voice a little high but also a little hoarse.

"I suppose that depends, Professor," Scorpius said calmly.

"On what?"

"On something entirely outside my control," Scorpius said and he looked at the doorway. Rose had just entered the room, cheeks pink and her blue eyes burning with cold fire.

Professor Flitwick almost looked resigned. "Very well, please take a seat," Flitwick said and he headed back to his desk.

Scorpius made his way to the table where Albus was and calmly sat down. He noticed that the Ravenclaw girls appeared to have entered when he was arguing with Rose and they were eyeing him with inexplicable looks on their faces.

"What happened?" Albus asked. He was irritable. His cheeks were pink and he wanted to tell his cousin to leave him the hell alone.

"I tried to get her to leave you out of this. I don't think it worked," Scorpius said quietly and then he silenced Albus with a gesture when Professor Flitwick began to take roll. He calmly got out parchment and ink since he was sure there would be a need for it and he listened to the tiny old man calling and checking off names.

There wouldn't be more time to talk during this lesson since Professor Flitwick launched into a highly interesting lecture that he augmented by demonstrating some of the Charms they would eventually be learning. He made Ravenclaw Holly Prescott's textbook tap dance along the table to the amusement of the class. Then he began to talk about the theory behind magic, all the elements needed to make a spell work including wand movement and intentions and a given witch or wizards concentration and pronunciation. He emphasized how important each one of the elements was in a cheerful, almost excited sort of way, all the while the students took notes. But the note taking was actually interesting rather than boring and Blake was smiling by the time they were halfway through the class.

But the end of class came and soon the boys were on their way back to their common room to read the section that Professor Flitwick had asked them to read by their next class tomorrow. Scorpius and Albus were a bit quiet as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower and Blake did his best to cheer them up since he felt he was more responsible for Rose Weasley's explosion before Charms since he had been the one to call her father an ass.

The four boys settled in some chairs near the fire and Halim tried to help them with their Transfiguration homework. They were at it for a while and it was close to dinner time when Blake said, "Stop, I can't take it any more. This is going to make my head explode."

They were all laughing a little and trying to decompress when James Potter walked up to them. "Hi James," Albus said calmly.

"Al… did you call Uncle Ron an ass?" James asked calmly.

Albus blinked.

"Actually, I called your Uncle Ron an ass, Al just kind of agreed with me," Blake said calmly as he sat up in his seat and looked at Albus's older brother.

James looked at Blake and then focused on Scorpius. "Did you have an argument with Rose?" he asked quietly.

Scorpius sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. "I was trying to get her to stop attacking Al because she hates me for no other reason than I am a Malfoy," Scorpius said in a slightly cool tone of voice.

James winced slightly. "Al… Rose has gone to Vicky."

"What?! Why?" Albus asked sounding rather miserable.

"She's desperate, I guess. And she thinks that Sam is turning you against the family. It's the dumbest thing I've heard in ages, but…"

"But I'm a Malfoy and Al's a Potter," Scorpius said calmly.

"That's not what I meant… exactly," James said a little awkwardly.

Scorpius sighed and waved it off. "Pretty much everyone is thinking it or has thought it since Friday. They all think I belong down in the dungeons with the other miscreant Death Eater children," he muttered coolly. "I suppose it doesn't matter that I'm not Draco Malfoy, that the first friend I made on the train was a Muggleborn because no one who knew anything about wizardry was going to go near me," he said calmly although their was a hint of annoyance in his tone.

James sighed loudly. "Listen, I didn't come over to stir things up. Just to warn Al that Victoire and Dominique are probably going to try to intervene and they might get Molly and Lucy in on it too," James said quietly.

"Great, I get to be ganged up on by all the girls in my family," Albus said irritably. "I don't get why they're making a big deal of this when Dad has said he doesn't care that I'm friends with Sam," he muttered.

James shrugged but he looked uncomfortable. "Dad is like that. So is Mum, although maybe not quite as much. Vic and Dom… have their mother's temper, that whole veela thing… Just… they're probably going to try something, and I wanted to make sure you weren't railroaded," James said calmly and then someone called his name from near the portrait hole. "Coming! I got to go, Al, but I hope this gets sorted out soon," he said quickly and he gave a nod to his brother's friends before he hurried off to join his.

Albus scowled deeply. "I am not in the mood for this bollocks," he said irritably and he got to his feet after he gathered his things and headed upstairs to the dormitory.

Scorpius, Blake and Halim shortly joined Albus upstairs where they found Albus lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling. Scorpius threw his bag on his bed. "This is my fault. If I hadn't tried to confront her she wouldn't have gone off to the Head Girl," he said calmly.

"She shouldn't be doing this in the first place. It's no ones bloody business who I decide to be friends with and as far as I'm concerned they can all piss off," Albus said angrily.

"Al, I get that you just want Rose to leave you alone, but if she's gone after older family, perhaps you should too… You said your Dad has said he doesn't care that you and Sam are friends. Write him and ask him to tell everyone in the family to leave you alone about it," Halim said quietly in a sympathetic tone.

"I don't want to go to my Dad. I should be able to handle this myself," Albus said sounding furious.

"You should, yes… but obviously Rose has some sort of stubborn streak wider than the Nile and I think the only thing that is going to get to her is something from your Dad or maybe her Mum," Halim said trying to sound reasonable.

"It feels like tattling," Albus muttered.

"She's already gone and done that, hasn't she, by going to your cousin Victoire," Blake said coolly.

"It isn't like she can ban me from talking to Sam," Albus muttered. He really did not want to write to his Dad having to tell him that he couldn't deal with his cousins.

Scorpius sighed loudly. "Okay, we don't know what your cousin is going to do, really, until she does it or tries to at least… maybe… maybe you would be better off. I mean, you're going to keep getting flack from everyone, not just your family-"

"Hell no!" Albus said angrily and he looked at Sam as he sat up. "You aren't going to try to martyr yourself, Sam. I'm not going to let them do this even if I have to tell Victoire to piss off to her face," he said irritably.

"I would honestly love to see that, Albus," a calm, slightly amused female voice said from the doorway.

Albus jumped slightly.

"So would I," a very similar although less amused voice said from behind the first girl.

Standing in the doorway were a pair of twins who looked like fourth years, both with Weasley red hair, freckles and blue eyes hidden behind wire frame glasses; it had always been really hard to tell Molly and Lucy Weasley apart.

Scorpius turned and looked at the girls and realized they were watching him as if sizing him up. He looked back at them calmly and waited for someone to do something.

"Molly, Lucy… can't you just go away?" Albus asked sounding miserable.

"No, sorry," Lucy, the amused sounding one, said with a slight smile as she stepped further into the room.

"Little Rose is quite angry with you, Albus," Molly said calmly and she looked at Albus pointedly.

"She's hacked off at me because of Sam, because I'm friends with Draco Malfoy's kid! She's being immature and annoying and she blames Sam for everything she thinks isn't good for me," Albus said sounding angry.

"Sam? I thought your name was Scorpius," Molly said as she looked at the blonde boy who was watching her silently.

"It's a nickname," Blake spoke up. "I gave it to him on the train… Scorpius is a bit much, don't you think?" he said quickly as he looked at Molly and then at Lucy who seemed the more forgiving of the two.

"It does seem more than a little pretentious to keep saying Scorpius _all_ the time," Lucy said and she seemed like she was going to grin.

"What do you think of the nickname, Scorpius?" Molly asked.

"I prefer it to my given name, if that tells you anything important," Scorpius said calmly after a moment. He didn't know much about Molly and Lucy Weasley other than they were Percy Weasley's daughters.

Lucy smirked slightly. "Don't like your Dad?" she asked.

"I don't believe my feelings toward my father are really any of your concern," Scorpius said calmly and he tried to sound polite.

Lucy grinned. "Too right, too right; they are absolutely none of my concern. What is of my concern is your friendship with my cousin," Lucy said and the grin on her face turned serious.

"Lucy-"

"Al, shut it for a moment," Lucy said calmly.

"What do you think this is some sort of plot hatched by my father? Do you think I'm here to spy on a Potter and see… what exactly? Do you think this is any easier for me than for Al? You lot are on the good side of things, you can always choose whether to forgive someone or not. I have to fight to get people to trust me because I'm a Malfoy. Do you think I like it any more than Al's Dad liked being hounded and called The Boy Who Lived or The Chosen One?" Scorpius said irritably, his eyes narrowed.

Molly glanced from Scorpius to Lucy. Lucy looked from Scorpius to Molly. Silence fell that stretched for one minute and then two…

And Molly and Lucy smiled at nearly the same time.

"What just happened?" Blake asked frowning.

"Your dear Sam passed. Al, I know Rose can be a bit like her Dad, but… ignore her or something, would you? I don't want to hear any more whining from her. It hurts my ears," Lucy said rather bluntly.

Molly hit Lucy in the shoulder. "Quiet you," she said and then looked at Scorpius carefully. "Sam does fit you better," she said calmly and she turned and walked out of the room.

Lucy started to laugh and followed Molly to the stunned surprise of all four boys in the dormitory.

"What just happened?" Scorpius asked as he looked at Albus.

"Hell if I know," Albus muttered and he ran a hand through his hair.

"Does anyone else think this day took ten years to go by?" Blake asked as he looked around at the other three.

"Yes," Albus, Halim and Scorpius intoned together and then snickered.

_Author's Note: I hope it isn't too boring, or anything. I know it's still mostly filler but it gets more interesting, I swear. Please, Please review! The more reviews I get the more chapters get posted! You, the reader, control the fate of this story! Suggestions are welcome! - Frankie_


	4. Mediation

_Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter: ghostwriterer, xxxxGryffindorGurlxxxx, Zayda, kittenonabroomstick, Aspieturtle, leosands, RyujiIshida, Asterix Tutnix - I appreciate all of your comments more than you know and this chapter is dedicated to you lot for inspiring me to get my rear in gear so quickly. I hope you enjoy the chapter! Please Review! - Frankie_

**Mediation**

The Gryffindor boys, particularly Scorpius and Albus would by the end of dinner feel like the day had taken twenty years to go by and none of them would be happy about it. They were crossing the common room, their conversations with James, Molly and Lucy had been put aside for the moment, when two of their surnames were called by a voice with a slight accent. "Potter, Malfoy, come here," the accented voice said and half the common room turned to look at the first years.

Albus stopped in his tracks, eyes wide with horror as he looked at Scorpius whose expression had suddenly become the passive mask of a non-emotional reaction. Albus's cousin and Head Girl, Victoire Weasley had been the one to call their names. "Now," she added when the boys did not turn to look at her.

Albus winced but he and Scorpius turned together and walked toward the group of chairs near the windows where Victoire was standing. They both realized that Molly and Lucy were sitting nearby looking mildly sympathetic. "Yes Victoire?" Albus asked as calmly as he could but his voice quivered slightly.

"Rose has asked me to speak to you, Albus," Victoire said in a rather firm, overly formal sort of way. It was clear she was speaking as Head Girl rather than cousin Victoire.

"Oh?" Albus asked and tired to sound curious.

"Yes. She seems to think that Mr. Malfoy is a bad influence upon you, that he's goaded you into cheating in only your first two days of classes and that you are being disrespectful of your elders," Victoire said calmly and she looked between Albus and Scorpius carefully.

"And I will tell you that it is complete and utter nonsense," Albus said coolly. "Sam hasn't done anything wrong except be a Malfoy and get put in Gryffindor. Rose needs to stop being judgmental and snobbish, in my honest opinion," he added after a moment when Victoire said nothing.

Victoire looked at Scorpius. "I assume Sam is a nickname," she said calmly.

"Yes," Scorpius said politely and gave a respectful nod in the Head Girl's direction.

"What do you think of Albus's opinion?" Victoire asked as she looked at Scorpius carefully.

"That I have tried to get Rose Weasley to stop putting Albus into the middle of whatever problem she has with me, whether it is regarding my surname and family or if it is regarding possible jealousy due to grades," Scorpius said very calmly.

Victoire's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"That I do not want Al getting criticized because he's decided to be my friend. That I do not want Al fighting with his family, particularly someone he has been close with all of his life, because of me or because a member of his family has an issue with me. I would much rather they took that issue up with me and left Al the hell out of it," Scorpius said and he progressively lost his composure and had to force himself not to shout.

"And what is it that I hear about you calling Rose's father an ass?" Victoire asked calmly, although her accent came in a bit thicker.

"That was me!" Blake said from more than twenty feet away and eyes turned to him. "If you want to give me a detention for it, go right ahead. I'm the one that said it, Al might have agreed but it had nothing to do with Rose or Sam," he said quickly as he looked at Victoire.

"It was not timed to purposely upset Rose?" Victoire asked calmly.

"Hell no… er… sorry. No, it wasn't," Blake said and he shifted uncomfortably.

Victoire turned her attention from Blake to Albus and Scorpius again. Her gaze focused on Scorpius. "Is this true, Malfoy?" she asked calmly.

"That it had nothing to do with me and Rose Weasley, absolutely and although it probably wasn't the brightest thing to be saying in the middle of a corridor it had to do with seeing someone else entirely unconnected with Mr. Weasley," Scorpius said calmly.

"What did it have to do with?" Victoire asked calmly.

"Uncle Ron and my Mum having an argument that my Dad had to break up," Albus said quietly.

Victoire blinked. "Does Rose know about this argument?" she asked.

"That it happened, sure, but I didn't tell her I heard it," Albus said quietly. "And I would appreciate it if I didn't have to explain it to her either," he mumbled.

Victoire looked thoughtful for several moments. "Go to dinner, boys, I will speak to Rose," she said calmly and she turned away from them to say something to Molly and Lucy that apparently they weren't meant to hear since she waited until they had started to walk away before she spoke.

Scorpius and Albus rejoined Blake and Halim and they hurried out of the common room to head down to the Great Hall for dinner. "What just happened?" Blake asked as the four of them hurried toward the stairs.

"I have no idea… I think she believed us, but… maybe she's just waiting to question Rose again and then she's going to come down on us, I don't know," Albus said sounding concerned.

"She was with Molly and Lucy… what do you think that was about?" Scorpius asked curiously as they hurried from the seventh floor to the sixth.

Albus was about to answer when he heard something else that had his eyes widening. "It's Rose," he whispered and gestured at the footsteps and voices coming up the stairs.

"Quick, in here," Scorpius whispered and the four of them hurried into an empty classroom just as Rose, Amelia, Connie and Breana reached the sixth floor.

"Did you hear that?" Amelia's voice asked and the girls paused on the sixth floor.

"Hear what?" Breana asked curiously, a bit of an Irish accent in her voice.

"I thought I heard voices," Amelia said and the boys hoped that the four of them wouldn't decide to explore or they would stumble right across them.

"It could have been anyone," Connie said in a slightly curious sort of tone.

Blake mouthed curses at Connie from their position in the classroom. Halim put a hand over Blake's mouth and Albus put a finger to his lips. The four of them seemed to hold their breath, waiting for something to happen…

"Did you actually see anyone?" Rose asked after a long moment.

"No," Amelia replied.

"Then let's go back to the common room. We have that horrid essay for Transfiguration to do," Rose said a little primly.

Breana grumbled. "Why did you have to remind me of that?" she said irritably.

"Because we have to get it done, you don't want a detention do you?" Rose said primly and Breana and Connie sighed audibly.

"Let's go," Amelia said calmly and footsteps climbed the stairs calmly.

The four boys stood cautious and silent as they waited for the footsteps and voices to disappear. Blake pushed Halim's hand off of his face. "Why'd you do that for?" Blake asked sounding a bit annoyed.

Halim rubbed his hand on his robes. "I didn't want you giving away our position to the enemy," Halim said in an overly serious tone.

Albus and Scorpius snorted aloud and Blake stared for a moment before he erupted into laughter. They were all about to exit the classroom when they heard, "I knew I heard someone!" Amelia's voice carried down the stairs.

"Bugger all," Scorpius hissed and the four of them erupted out of the classroom and in the opposite direction of the stairs.

"Who is it?!" Rose's voice called.

"I'm not sure!" Connie replied quickly.

Scorpius, Albus, Blake and Halim didn't waste breath speaking. The four of them were extremely sick of being in fights with girls, or rather Rose, and none of them wanted another confrontation. Scorpius skidded to a halt near a tapestry.

"Why are you stopping?" Blake asked.

Scorpius ripped the tapestry aside and it revealed a set of dimly lit stairs leading down at least two floors. "Come on," Scorpius said and the four of them piled into the staircase.

The tapestry stilled as hurried footsteps came toward them down the corridor. "Stop!" Halim whispered and the four boys froze on the stairs.

The hurried footsteps simply passed the tapestry and tapered off.

"Move quietly," Halim whispered and the four of them practically tip toed down the stairs where they burst out of another tapestry on the fourth floor.

"Whoa," Blake said as he looked around.

"Sam, how did you know about that passage?" Albus asked as the four of them straightened their robes and made their way toward another set of stairs.

Scorpius shrugged. "I saw the corner of the tapestry move and there wasn't a wall behind it," he said calmly as they started down the stairs again headed to the Great Hall.

"Did you really?" Blake asked with narrowed eyes.

"Okay, no, I didn't," Scorpius admitted.

"Did someone tell you about it?" Albus asked calmly.

"No. I just… I had a feeling about it," Scorpius said quietly.

"What sort of feeling?" Albus asked.

"I don't know. Just… that there was an escape route right there," Scorpius said with a slightly uncomfortable shrug. That was the feeling he had had, the reason he had skidded to a stop… he simply couldn't explain _why_ he'd had the feeling.

"Weird. Are there psychics in the wizarding world?" Blake asked as he looked at Scorpius.

"There are Seers, but they generally do Prophecy or… read tea leaves or something," Albus said with a shrug.

"It was just an instinct. I followed it. It's not a big deal," Scorpius said calmly.

"I've done that before," Halim admitted. "Like… déjà vu," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, like déjà vu," Scorpius said and latched onto the idea since it was more comforting than uncertainty. The other boys mostly forgot about his instinct as soon as they reached the Great Hall and sat down to eat, but Scorpius couldn't forget it, it had just been too weird.

The Gryffindor boys enjoyed their dinner and tried to forget their conversation with Victoire and their less than masculine scamper from the annoying girls. Scorpius and Albus were still distracted however and they ate slowly and did their best to keep up with conversation. Before they knew it they were on their way back upstairs with the intention of reading the chapter or two that Professor Flitwick had assigned them to read by tomorrow.

The boys were sitting in the common room together reading the section and commenting to one another about it. Blake kept up a halfway sarcastic commentary that kept making the other three start laughing. They ignored pretty much everyone else in the common room although Scorpius kept feeling that he was being watched, but he wasn't sure who was doing it. Rose didn't appear to be looking at him but writing something, probably her Transfiguration essay and her cousins didn't appear to be paying him any more attention at the moment. It was a little disturbing to him and he tried to ignore it but it got to the point where he couldn't concentrate.

Scorpius shifted in his seat, twitched his book and tried to read it as it sat in front of him but the hair on the back of his neck kept rising and sending a chill down his spine. "Damnit," he muttered and he looked up and around the common room on purpose.

"Something wrong?" Albus asked sounding a little concerned.

"I feel like I'm being watched," Scorpius muttered so only his friends could hear.

Halim frowned. "Who's watching you?" he asked.

"I don't know. I haven't caught anyone at it but it's beginning to really tick me off," Scorpius said irritably.

Blake looked around the common room. "Let's just go upstairs. It's not like we have to study down here. It's a bit loud anyway," he said calmly as something exploded and it appeared to be a Weasley's Wizard Wheezes product.

They collected their things and got to their feet. They headed to the boy's staircase and then up to their dormitory. No one seemed to even notice that they went and his feeling continued to bother Scorpius as they trooped up the stairs. They spent the next little while finishing reading the section Flitwick had assigned them. When Scorpius finished he shoved his book back into his bag.

"Done Sam?" Blake asked from where he sat on his bed.

"Yeah," Scorpius replied.

"Me too," Albus said calmly from where he sat propped up by his pillow at the head of his bed as he set aside his book.

"I will be in a minute," Halim said calmly.

"Then keep reading," Blake said with some amusement.

Halim rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said with some sarcasm.

Blake snickered. He looked at Scorpius. "You really think someone was watching you down stairs?" he asked sounding a bit curious.

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just paranoid," Scorpius said and he dragged a hand through his hair.

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't after you," Halim said in a calm and extremely rational tone of voice. All eyes turned to him. He started to smile despite attempts to keep a straight face.

"Git," Scorpius said but he started to smile too.

Albus snorted and Blake started to snicker. Halim started to laugh and set Scorpius to laughing and the other two started to actually laugh too. "You're all mad," Albus managed in between bursts of laughter.

"I hope you're not leaving yourself out of that comment, because you are too," Blake said and as he grinned at him, Albus leaned forward and pulled his pillow out from behind his back and flung it at Blake.

Instead of hitting Blake the pillow flew off course and hit Scorpius in the face with a soft thump. "Oi!" Scorpius said and he took hold of the pillow and hit Albus with it.

"Hey! It's my pillow!" Albus said and tried to catch it as Scorpius came back for another hit. He got hold of his end and Scorpius still had a hold on the other.

"You hit me with it!" Scorpius said loudly, although he was having trouble keeping from laughing.

"I was trying to hit Blake!" Albus said and he yanked on his pillow again. His grip slipped and Scorpius stumbled back into his bed.

"You missed," Scorpius said with a tone in his voice that clearly said, 'That's obvious'.

"Yeah, sorry," Albus said and he reached for his pillow again.

Scorpius grinned and said, "I won't." And in an instant he'd whipped around and flung Albus's pillow at Blake's head. It hit with a whumph and Scorpius started to laugh.

Blake ended up with Albus's pillow in one hand and an evil grin on his face. "Shouldn't have done that Sam," Blake said and his pillow was in his hand a moment later. Cackling, he shouted, "Pillow fight!" and he jumped onto Scorpius's bed whipping the two pillows in his hands as he went.

Scorpius managed to duck the first strike, but was caught by the second one as he dove forward to get his pillow from his bed. Albus went after Blake to get his own pillow back and got hit more than he did anything else. Scorpius whipped his pillow at Blake's head but missed and then Halim came from nowhere and smacked Blake in the back of the head. The shock of being struck from behind had him dropping Albus's pillow and Albus was then able to pick it up and an all out war was on. All four of them were laughing and whacking one another with their pillows while trying to fend off being hit themselves.

A few minutes later Blake was trying to catch his breath as he stumbled out of the group to lean against Albus's bed. "Okay, okay, enough!" he called when he was hit by all three pillows at once.

Smirking and laughing Albus said, "What? Had enough?"

Blake rolled his eyes. "I can't breathe," he said and he sounded winded.

"Ten galleons say it's a distraction," Scorpius said sounding amused but he was also breathing a little fast.

"What do you think, Halim?" Albus asked.

Halim looked at Blake skeptically but then he let the tension out of his arm holding his pillow. "He might be serious," he said taking a few deep breaths.

Albus relaxed slightly. Blake grinned. "Suckers," he said and he whipped the pillow in Albus's direction. Albus dodged and turned, lifting his pillow as he went and nailing Blake in the back. Scorpius shouted, "I told you so!" and he also lifted his pillow to hit Blake. Halim joined in and the three of them ganged up on Blake to the point where he was kneeling on the floor, covering his head and shouting, "All right! I give up!"

Albus, Halim and Scorpius backed up and started laughing when Blake looked up at them. His face was bright red and he sat up and started laughing with them. The four of them were laughing when the door opened and Bernard Griswold came in looking rather annoyed. "What the bloody hell are you four doing?" he asked sounding just as annoyed as he looked.

The four boys immediately fell silent and looked up at the sixth year prefect with wide eyes. Scorpius tried to keep a straight face but he couldn't and he grinned a bit as he said, "They owe me ten galleons."

Albus, Halim and Blake burst out laughing again and Scorpius soon joined them to the displeasure of Griswold. "For Merlin's sake, people are trying to go to sleep. Will the four of you keep it down? I do not want to have to come up here again tonight or the lot of you will get detention for as long as I can wrangle it, got it?!" he said and he sounded angry.

Albus bit his lip as he tried to stop laughing. Halim covered his mouth as he tried to stop laughing. Blake had fallen onto his side and couldn't stop laughing while he tried to apologize for it at the same time. Scorpius had his eyes closed tightly as he took deep breaths and tried to stop laughing. "We will… try to… be quieter," he managed and he looked at Bernard.

Bernard scowled. "You had better," he said irritably and he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him with a snap.

Silence fell for about a second and then the four boys started laughing again and they didn't stop for several minutes, but eventually they trailed off.

"The look on his face was priceless," Blake said with a grin as he finally sat up.

"Yes, it was. And you two," Scorpius said and looked at Halim and Albus, "You owe me ten galleons," he said with a grin.

Blake snickered. "You should see the looks on your faces," he said as he smirked.

Albus and Halim exchanged a look and then at the same time they swung their pillows and hit Blake in the head, but instead of coming back pristine pillows they both tore open and feathers spilled out onto Blake and scattered all over the floor.

Blake spat and a few feathers flew out of his mouth as Albus and Halim stared. The four of them started laughing again. When they'd stopped Scorpius managed to remember the spell to fix the pillows and the feathers flew back where they belonged.

"We should probably try to go to sleep," Albus said after a moment when he'd tossed his repaired pillow back on his bed.

Halim returned to his bed and smirked at Albus. "You actually think you're going to fall asleep after that?" he asked.

Albus shrugged.

Scorpius sighed. "He's right though," he said.

"You lot are boring," Blake said but he got to his feet and went to his bed.

"We have class in the morning," Scorpius said with a slight shrug.

Blake rolled his eyes but said nothing. The four boys began to prepare to go to sleep digging pajamas out of their trunks and changing for bed. "Goodnight," Blake said although he sounded a little put out that they were going to sleep.

Scorpius sighed but he didn't want to go back down to the common room and their curfew had come and gone… not that that would stop him if he really wanted to go out. He just wasn't interested at the moment because he had too much preoccupying his mind. The things that he had pushed into the back of his mind most of the day sprang to the forefront of it with restless abandon as he lay down to sleep.

The sensation of being watched in the common room came first and the frustration of not being able to find the culprit. He would have blamed Rose but he was nearly positive that it _hadn't_ been her. She had been too busy with her homework and with her rather violent reactions regarding theirs and possible cheating he did not think that even her anger would distract her from completing it. And the Head Girl, his next suspect had been chatting with her friends and he knew that was harder to fake than Rose writing her essay…

And Professor Nott coming out of the Forbidden Forest and looking at him like… like a Malfoy was almost depressing. Not unexpected, but depressing. It made him wonder whether the whole school would always think of him as a Malfoy excepting his friends. It made his whole head feel like exploding so he didn't have to think of it…

And then there was the Flying Instructor being attacked in Hogsmeade, the most worrying bit about the whole day, particularly when it was taken with the letter from Al's father, Harry Potter, Head of the Auror Department, defeater of Voldemort the most feared Dark Wizard in centuries. If Harry Potter was worried… only Merlin knew when all hell was going to break loose, unless he was just worried about his children… Scorpius hoped that it was only Albus's and James's wellbeing their father was so worried about, because if it wasn't…

He didn't want to think about what new terror could be unleashed into the world.

In the morning when the boys woke, Scorpius was groggy. His mind had roamed and wandered for a long time before it had finally shut off and let him sleep. He did his best to wake up and not act like a grouchy prat when he did. He knew there were names that people would probably call him if they truly knew just how much he worried about… everything.

"Considering how early we got to sleep, you don't look like you got much," Albus said when they were sitting down to breakfast.

"Mind wouldn't shut up. It's no big deal," Scorpius said as he started to fill his plate.

"You sure?" Albus asked as he too started to serve himself breakfast.

"Yeah," Scorpius said although he wasn't entirely sure. He began to eat and was looking up at one of the fourth or fifth years, who were seated just along the table from them, one of them was reading the Daily Prophet. A title there caught his eye and he stared as he tried to make it out.

"What is it Sam?" Halim asked frowning.

"The Prophet…" Scorpius trailed off and frowned.

Blake, who was closest, looked at the title that Scorpius couldn't quite see. "You there," Blake said and gestured at the older boy with the paper.

"Aye? What do you want?" he asked frowning at the first year.

"The front page of your paper, if you'd be so kind," Blake said with a winning smile and a slight nod.

He frowned and then rolled his eyes as he pulled the first page loose and passed it along the table. "I was done with it anyway," he said and then promptly set about to ignore the first years.

Blake took the paper and passed it to Scorpius since he had been the one the paper had caught the attention of. Scorpius took the paper and on the bottom half of the front page was where the story that had caught his eye was printed. He frowned at it.

"What is it?" Albus asked and he was also frowning.

Scorpius shoved aside his plate and Albus's to make room for the paper as he flattened it on the table. "That's what," Scorpius said and pointed to the headline.

"Read it," Halim said quietly.

"Hogwarts Teacher Hospitalized," Scorpius began and then continued. "Tabitha Jenkins, 21, of Godric's Hollow was committed to the Spell Damage Ward of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries Sunday evening. The daughter of former Chudley Cannon's beater, Joey Jenkins, Ms. Jenkins was hospitalized for reasons unknown," Scorpius said quietly as he read the story aloud.

"That's true enough. Dad said they didn't know what had happened," Albus said quietly.

"Wait, listen to this," Scorpius said and he continued with the story. "Ms. Jenkins placement in the Spell Damage Ward has given rise to speculation that the Dark Arts were involved in her as yet unknown illness. The Ministry of Magic has denied rumors that the Auror Department, and particularly Harry Potter, is involved in an investigation. Mr. Potter could not be reached for comment," Scorpius said and he looked up at Albus.

Albus frowned. "Either Mum has broken out her Bat-Bogey Hex again or something weird is going on," he said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Halim asked, frowning.

"Every time Dad's been involved with something since… as far back as I can remember at least, they've printed something he's said or printed that he had no comment or whatever," Albus said quietly and he looked at Halim.

"So…" Blake said frowning.

"So, it means Dad isn't at home and hasn't been since whenever the Prophet's leeches found out about Ms. Jenkins," Albus said quietly and he looked worried.

"I'm sure he's fine, Al. Believe me, if something had happened to your Dad you would definitely know," Scorpius said in a voice barely above a whisper. He did not want to start a rumor about Harry Potter.

Albus looked like he was about to say something when a shadow passed over them and the four of them looked up. Professor Longbottom was standing over them. "Good morning. How is the Prophet this morning?" he asked calmly.

"Printing stories," Albus replied.

"More like tall tales," Professor Longbottom said calmly. "I would like to see the four of you in my office. Now, please," he said and he turned and walked away.

The boys exchanged looks but they got to their feet. Scorpius tucked the page of the Prophet into his bag and they followed in their Head of House's footsteps. "I was done eating anyway," Blake said although he looked longingly at a piece of toast a third year was about to munch on.

Albus snorted but made no other comment. They walked up the marble staircase and down a corridor where they could just see Professor Longbottom entering his office. The boys came to the door and he said, "Come in boys."

The boys filed in and stood side by side on one side of Professor Longbottom's desk. There was a small cutting of a _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_ on one side of the desk and a pair of photographs on the other. Professor Longbottom stood calmly behind his desk but he didn't sit down. "You wanted to see us, sir?" Scorpius said calmly when it didn't seem like Albus was going to say anything or that the Professor was going to speak.

Professor Longbottom shrugged. "Not really, actually," he said in a calm tone.

The office door closed behind the boys and the four of them jumped and looked around. It had been like an invisible hand had closed the door. They exchanged looks and shrugged.

"What took you so long?" Professor Longbottom asked calmly.

The boys looked deeply confused. "You're going to scare them, Neville," a voice said from an empty corner of the room.

Albus would have recognized that voice anywhere. "Dad! What are you doing here?!" he asked and his father came out from beneath an Invisibility Cloak that had been in the family for generations.

"Mostly keeping an eye on you," Harry Potter said calmly although he smiled slightly.

Scorpius frowned. "How long have you been here? Sir?" he asked curiously.

Harry smiled and nearly started to laugh but he covered his mouth and looked at his son and his former nemesis's son. "Most of yesterday," he said calmly, smiling.

"Wait a minute," Blake said loudly. "Sam thought he was being watched all night! Were you… spying on us with that… thing?" he asked.

"This," Harry said and held up the shimmering fabric that was folded over one arm, "is an Invisibility Cloak. Yes, they're real. No, you cannot try it out," he said and he grinned a little at Neville.

"You didn't answer Blake's second question," Scorpius said calmly as he looked at Harry Potter.

"I wasn't… spying, so much as…" Harry trailed off and shrugged. "I wanted to make sure you lot weren't going to go out and start investigating things on your own," he said calmly.

"Okay. So, you were in the common room last night?" Scorpius asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry if I upset you… Sam, was it? You were the only one who seemed to notice me at all," Harry said and he sounded mildly apologetic but also quite amused.

Scorpius blinked when Harry called him Sam. "It drove me nuts when I couldn't figure out who was looking at me," he said and he looked at Harry with a slight frown.

"My apologies. But I do have a question for you," Harry said calmly.

"Okay."

"May I ask why you kept looking at Rose?" he said calmly.

Scorpius blinked. Blake smirked. Albus sighed. Halim looked indifferent. "She… er… takes to glaring at me, sometimes, sir, and I thought it was her since I didn't realize the Head of the Auror Department was lurking in the common room," he said calmly although his cheeks had gone slightly pink.

Harry grinned and then he started to laugh. "She is so like her mother," he said and he looked at Neville.

"I've seen more of Ron lately than Hermione," Professor Longbottom said calmly.

"Oh? How bad have things got in four days?" Harry asked.

It was Blake's turn to flush.

"She hasn't hit anyone yet, if you're wondering," Professor Longbottom said with a grin.

Scorpius looked at Albus. "Are we on the outside of an inside joke?" he asked calmly.

"Probably talking about when my Aunt hit your Dad… something about Buckbeak and Hagrid, I can't remember," Albus said with a shrug.

Scorpius's brow went up.

"I'll tell you about it later," Albus said quietly.

"I think we're being distracted," Halim said calmly from beside Blake who jumped slightly. Halim smirked when he did.

"What was your name?" Harry asked calmly.

"Halim Griffin."

"Well, I guess nothing gets past you, Halim," Harry said and he sighed and sent a shrug in Neville's direction.

"Harry," Professor Longbottom said in a slightly warning tone.

"If we keep things from them they're just going to go looking for answers, Neville. I remember what it's like. You were there when we stumbled across Fluffy our first year," Harry said calmly.

"Which led you to Hagrid and Nicholas Flamel if I remember correctly," Professor Longbottom said and he sighed.

"And near death experiences," Harry said calmly.

"Voldemort is dead, Harry."

"Neville, just because he's dead doesn't mean someone else isn't planning or plotting something. St. Mungo's has no idea what happened to Tabitha Jenkins," Harry said firmly.

"That doesn't necessarily preclude Dark magic being involved," Professor Longbottom said calmly.

"No, it doesn't, but in my experience it certainly makes it more likely and I'd rather my son knew what was going on than hiding things from him because the Ministry is walking on tip-toes," Harry said a little heatedly.

"Telling them will probably make them all the more curious, Harry!"

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Then I'd sure as hell rather they knew what they were walking into, Neville! Dumbledore kept secrets that damn near got me killed… I can't even remember how many times," Harry said heatedly.

"Oi! Professor!" Scorpius said loudly.

Harry and Professor Longbottom stopped arguing when they finally heard Scorpius's shout and realized they weren't alone. It was clearly an argument they hadn't completely finished out yet, but had probably had at least once since Saturday. "Yes?" Professor Longbottom asked.

"You may find it hard to believe but we worked out all this on our own all ready," Scorpius said calmly. "Unless there was something particularly weird about where or how Ms. Jenkins was found, or there's something else you were thinking of telling us…" he trailed off and shrugged slightly.

Harry sent Professor Longbottom a pointed look. "We don't know anything more for sure, but the Board's involvement is peculiar. Not unprecedented, but peculiar, particularly since I offered to instruct you lot without pay and they still didn't want me here," Harry said calmly as he looked at the boys.

"That sounds really dumb," Blake injected.

"That's what I thought, but I wasn't overly suspicious until Neville here told me that they also wouldn't let your Headmistress hire someone to take Ms. Jenkins place," Harry said calmly.

"Sir?" Scorpius said calmly.

"Yes Sam?"

"I don't know if it helps any, but no one seems to know anything… I mean… no one looks like they're sitting on some huge secret or anything," Scorpius said quietly and he hoped that he would get the message as intended.

"By no one, you mean the Slytherin students?" Harry asked.

"Yes, sir," Scorpius said awkwardly. "I may not be… but I've seen my father hiding things, not bad or anything, just stuff from my Mum, and the signs are sort of universal," he said and he dragged a hand through his hair.

"And most people don't think kids notice anything," Harry said slightly under his breath. "Thank you for that, Sam," he said calmly.

Scorpius shrugged.

Suddenly the bell rang. "Crap," the boys intoned almost as one.

Professor Longbottom leaned down and picked something up from his desk. It was a pass with their names written on and his signature. "If anyone asks I called you down here to speak to you about the ruckus in your dormitory last night," he said calmly.

"How did you know about that?" Blake asked, frowning. "Did that Griswold-"

"I heard you lot," Harry said calmly gave the slightest smile. "Oh, and don't tell anyone you saw me, not even James. I don't need him poking into things. He's not affected by this so it probably won't bother him," he said calmly although slightly pointedly.

"Yes, Dad," Albus said calmly.

"You had better get going. You have a bit of a trip downstairs for Potions," Professor Longbottom said calmly.

"Bye Professor," the boys said almost together. They waited until Harry had ducked underneath his Invisibility Cloak again and then they opened the door.

The boys disappeared out the door and hurried downstairs to the dungeons. They didn't make it before the beginning of class but Professor Goldwyn didn't question their excuse as Albus handed her the pass from Professor Longbottom.

"Take your seats boys," Professor Goldwyn said and they quickly found seats near the back.

Albus ended up on the aisle seat across from Eldora Connor who completely ignored him. He sighed as he got his things out and looked up toward the front of the classroom to listen to Professor Goldwyn's lecture after she collected their essays. Scorpius was thinking about all the things they had heard in Professor Longbottom's office and he wondered whether Harry Potter was going to remain in the castle or leave since he had seemingly done what he had come to do. But soon he was drawn into the lesson for the day and temporarily forgot about Ms. Jenkins and Dark magic and Aurors under Invisibility Cloaks.

While the class was taking notes Albus had a separate scrap of paper on top of the parchment he was using for notes and he wrote a short note on it and then folded it and kept it in his free hand. When they started to prepare the potion that they were working on that day that would have to stew for a few days and the class got to their feet to get their potions supplies, Albus surreptitiously slipped the short note a little ways into Eldora Connor's potions textbook before hurrying to collect his ingredients.

When he returned to his station after Eldora had returned to hers he found her glaring at him rather pointedly. Obviously his attempt at a note of apology had failed. He sighed quietly and got started on his potion.

"You okay, Al?" Scorpius asked from beside him when he's reached a point with his potion where it had to simmer for a few minutes.

Albus shrugged. "Yeah," he said and he unconsciously ruffled his hair.

Scorpius noticed the signs that Albus was giving off and recognized them as very similar to those he'd seen after Albus had run into Eldora Connor. He glanced at her and found her looking haughty and unconcerned with being alone at her table. He thought she looked annoyed though and he suspected that Albus might have attempted another apology, written this time. "You want me to talk to her?" he asked in a low voice.

Albus shook his head. "No," he said calmly and tried to focus on his potion.

Scorpius didn't think that Albus really understood why Eldora didn't want to be associated with him. That she did not want to show weakness beyond her "impure" blood, and that she had to exist among the Slytherins to survive. And as far as the Slytherins were concerned, Albus Potter was the worst sort of blood traitor and he was now in the same lot, although he didn't care all that much anymore. He was pretty sure he had got the best end of the stick.

Five minutes before class ended Professor Goldwyn announced that their potion should be ready to set for the period until their next class. Their potions were labeled and set aside while Professor Goldwyn watched to insure no one attempted to sabotage another student's potion. She assigned them a section to read in their textbook to be completed by their next class before the bell rang and the class was dismissed.

The boys headed upstairs. They had an hour break before their next Charms class. They headed to the Library since it was only a floor above the Charms corridor and it would be harder to get lost with only one floor to traverse to get to class. They found a table together and talked quietly in the hope that Madam Pince would not notice that they were there.

"Since we were interrupted in the Great Hall, was there anything else important about that story in the Prophet?" Halim asked calmly as he took out his Potions book and notes.

Scorpius shrugged but he dug the paper out of his bag and opened it up again. He reread the story very quickly and then shook his head. "Only that the reporter tried to ask Joey Jenkins about the rumors and Jenkins essentially told him to piss off and that he was only worried about his daughter getting well," Scorpius said calmly.

"I think you should keep the article," Halim said when Scorpius looked tempted to toss it in the rubbish.

"Why?" Scorpius asked, frowning.

"Just because something in it may be more important than we've recognized," Halim said calmly.

"He has a point," Blake said with a nod of agreement.

"Okay. If we're going to keep it, where should we put it? I mean carrying it around or shoving it in one of our trunks is going to get it torn up in no time," Albus said quietly.

Scorpius frowned a little. "One of us could… keep it in one of our textbooks or something," he suggested with a shrug.

"What about a blank book? One we could write all the information we have and also our theories?" Blake asked calmly.

"That could work, but if we're going to do it that way with theories and what not, we might need some sort of protection on it. I mean, there's no guarantee that someone who we don't want to have it would get a hold of it," Halim said quietly.

"The Marauder's Map," Albus whispered.

"What? What is that?" Scorpius asked frowning.

"My Granddad and his friends made it. It was a map of the school," Albus said quietly.

"Sweet! Where is it?" Blake asked sounding eager and interested.

Albus shook his head. "I don't know. I've only heard about it. My Dad had it when he was at school but I think he swore to my Mum that he wouldn't let any of us have it," Albus said quietly.

"Damn," Blake said and he sounded supremely disappointed.

"Yeah, and it showed everyone in the castle. And I heard a story about my Dad getting caught by Professor Snape-"

"_The_ Snape?" Scorpius interrupted.

"Yes. Anyway, Professor Snape was trying to make the Map work and it… apparently almost had a mind of its own. It insulted him rather than work for him," Albus said quietly.

Scorpius looked thoughtful. "You know, we could try and make our own," he said after a moment.

"Are you mad?" Albus asked incredulously. "I wouldn't even know where to start!"

"We're sitting in the middle of a library with more books of spells in it than we could read in a life time. It shouldn't be too hard to find the spells to do it," Halim said rather thoughtfully.

"Unless you want to try and find your Dad's," Blake said with a mischievous grin.

Albus stared at Blake with his mouth hanging open a little. "I wouldn't know where to look," he said sounding baffled.

"Maybe it won't come to that," Scorpius said calmly. "I think the idea is a good one, but it needs some thought. I mean, there might be better things we could do than spend an age exactly plotting the castle just so we'd know where everyone was," he said calmly.

"It would be really helpful for nighttime excursions," Blake suggested.

"Shh, we don't need people overhearing us," Halim said quietly.

"I imagine there's a magical solution to that as well, Halim," Scorpius said and he gestured around at the books.

"Well, that will give us something to do if we get bored," Albus said with a shrug.

Blake snickered. "I'm actually looking forward to this, you know that?" he said grinning.

Halim laughed. "Be that as it may, we'd better get going or we're going to be late for Charms," he said calmly and he started putting his things away. His thoughts that they would perhaps read their Potions assignment were mistaken but he didn't mind. They now had a possible project to get involved in, even if it would take ages to work out how to do what they wanted and figure out just what they did want to make.

The four boys headed to their Charms class discussing their interesting idea and Halim even wondered if their teachers would be interested in helping them. "Professor Nott would probably rather eat dragon dung than help us," Scorpius muttered.

"That doesn't matter, I'm sure I'd be able to figure out any Transfiguration stuff we needed to do and if I couldn't… well…" Halim trailed off and shrugged.

"I could always ask my Aunt," Albus said with a shrug.

"Do you think she'd be willing to help you do something that could possibly contribute to us breaking rules in the future?" Blake asked with a pointed look.

"Er… probably not," Albus admitted and they fell silent in their discussion of their idea as they approached the Charms classroom.

Their lesson that day had to do with the ethics of using magic; the how's and why's and when's of appropriate magic use. It wasn't exactly the most thrilling lesson ever, but Professor Flitwick made it interesting enough by demonstrating some bad things that could happen if a witch or wizard weren't careful while using magic. Situations where it was never appropriate to use magic and cases in which witches and wizards should use magic, particularly if it would save themselves or others, even Muggles, from serious harm. They were assigned an essay that had to be at least one foot long and would be due in their next class.

Lunch came and went although Scorpius did suggest that one of them should get a subscription to the Prophet so they wouldn't have to keep borrowing them or nicking them from others. It was decided that Scorpius was the least likely to be questioned about his sudden interest in the goings on of the Wizarding world. He scribbled a note to himself to remember to write to his mother.

After lunch it was time for their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class and all of the boys had rather been looking forward to it. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was Professor Harwell who was also the Head of Hufflepuff House. She was a young teacher, younger than Professors Longbottom and Nott. She had a pleasant attitude and personality. She was a determined witch however, and most of that determination was in making sure that the students of Hogwarts were prepared for what they _could_ face in their lives outside the school whether or not the odds were high that they _would _face them.

The boys entered the classroom to find that Professor Harwell was already inside and seemed to be preparing for their class. She turned toward them and smiled. "Good afternoon boys," Professor Harwell said and she turned her attention to them.

"Good afternoon, Professor," the boys intoned together as they took seats with a good view but with a desire of not seeming too eager to be at the head of the class.

Professor Drina Harwell was a pretty woman. She had golden blonde hair that was cut short seemingly only to keep it out of her eyes which were a deep brown. There were smile lines around the cupid's bow of her mouth and her nose was petite and upturned a little at the end. Her ears almost looked pointed and gave her a very pixie-like appearance. She was about five and a half feet tall and she was fairly thin as well.

"You must be my Gryffindors," she said with a smile.

"Yes, Professor," Blake said with a bit of a grin.

Before anything else could be said Breana, Connie and Amelia walked into the room talking to one another. Albus saw them and he frowned. "Where's Rose?" he asked.

Amelia ignored him. Breana looked mostly amused. Connie smiled and replied, "She got into a fight with that Connor girl. The Slytherin."

"What?!" Albus said loudly. "How? Why?" he asked quickly.

"It wasn't that bad, really," Breana said but she sounded as if it had been the best thing she'd seen all week.

"You really should not sound so amused, Breana," Amelia said a little coolly.

"Amelia, she was asking for it and you know it," Breana replied.

"What exactly happened?" Scorpius asked on Albus's behalf since his friend had fallen silent to stare in horror at the girls.

"Rose was being rather rude, actually," Connie admitted calmly.

"She said something to Connor that none of us quite heard properly and… well, Connor whirled around and said something else… it all got quite confused at least until Professor Goldwyn intervened," Amelia said coolly and sounded relieved when she mentioned their Potions Mistress.

"So… where is she?" Albus managed.

"Er… I'm not sure," Connie said apologetically. "Professor Goldwyn told us to leave and Rose didn't come find us before Charms. And then she didn't sit with us in Charms or come to lunch. I'm sure she'll be here soon though," she said quickly when Albus looked worried.

Scorpius looked at Albus and said quietly, "I'm sure Connor didn't do anything too bad."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Albus said quietly.

"Oh?"

"I'm worried that Connor will think all of us Gryffindors share Rose's biased opinion," he said quietly and he turned back around in his seat to face the front of the class.

Scorpius sighed a little bit and resolved himself to talking to Eldora Connor before too much longer. He felt a little bad for Albus who he was sure couldn't really understand the mindset of someone who had to get along with Slytherins even if they were despised.

Just before the bell rang Rose walked into the room, ignored her friends and Albus who asked where she had been and promptly focused upon Professor Harwell who shortly began to take roll.

When Professor Harwell had finished she set aside the class list and looked up at them with a small smile. "Well, I imagine many of you have at least a bit of an idea about the Dark Arts from family, from your new found friends or from reading your textbook. But this class is not only about the bad things that wizards can do to other wizards or to Muggles. This won't simply be a history lesson on Voldemort. There are also creatures in this world that would dearly love to harm you because it is in their natures. This class will teach you about all of these things and how to defend against them," she said calmly as she looked at each of them in turn.

"Do not worry about what you know or do not know right now, those things are of little consequence to how well you will do in this classroom. You're all starting from the beginning, do not feel nervous about it and do not hesitate to raise your hand if you have a question or need assistance with something. I will be happy to help with anything you need," Harwell said and she continued to smile politely as she looked at the class.

To the surprise of the entire class Professor Harwell didn't begin with a lesson or even a quiz to figure out what they knew or thought they knew about Defense Against the Dark Arts; instead she began with getting-to-know-you questions for the class. "We're going to be in classes quite often, and I find that it helps the learning environment if we're all comfortable with each other," Professor Harwell said as she continued to smile despite the dubious looks a few people were sending her. "Yes, Miss Weasley?" she asked when she saw Rose's hand in the air.

"How do you define comfortable, Professor?" Rose asked primly from where she sat alone at her table.

Eyes turned to glance at Rose and then refocus on the professor. None of them had exactly thought about what she meant. The question didn't startle Professor Harwell and she continued to smile. "I suppose that depends on you lot," she said calmly. "For instance, who would rather I call on them by their surname?" she asked calmly and waited for the class to get over their surprise. None of the boys raised their hands. Amelia and Rose raised theirs out of the girls while Breana and Connie didn't. "Very well, that should be easy to remember," she said calmly and she smiled.

Scorpius and Albus raised their hands nearly at the same time.

Professor Harwell looked curious. "Yes boys?" she asked.

"Professor, I would actually prefer to go by the name Sam," Scorpius said calmly.

"Sam, very well," she said and looked at Albus.

"Most people call me Al and use Albus when they're angry with me, actually," Albus said with a slight shrug.

Professor Harwell smiled. "Al and Sam… does anyone else have a nickname they would rather be known by?" she asked as she looked around. She saw Rose begin to scowl but chose to ignore it and no one else expressed a nickname they wanted to be known by. Harwell continued to ask questions like: "What is your favorite color?" and "Who is your favorite Quidditch team?" until the hour was up. It was the oddest class any of them had had yet and the only other class they had yet to experience was Astronomy.

However, because of the somewhat rowdy nature of the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, no one heard the footsteps of an invisible guest among them and no one noticed when a scrap of parchment appeared from seemingly no where on Scorpius Malfoy's rucksack.

The class was beginning to wind down after a rather enjoyable hour where most of them learned something interesting about the other members of their House year when Scorpius looked down at his bag to pick it up and he saw the parchment on it, neatly folded. He frowned slightly but pocketed it. Stranger things had happened that day, and he felt it was possible it could be connected as he glanced around the room and saw no one in particular paying him much attention. But that feeling of being watched returned and he had the feeling a certain Auror was hanging about and could be responsible for the parchment.

The bell rang to signal the end of their last class of the day and Scorpius quietly said to his friends, "I think we have a message from a certain invisible spy."

"What?" Albus asked and he frowned at Scorpius.

"There was a bit of parchment on my bag I didn't notice until a minute ago. No one in the class knows enough magic yet to just make it… appear there without anyone noticing," Scorpius said in a low voice as he noticed that Rose was eyeing them suspiciously again.

"Let's go find somewhere to read it then," Albus said quickly; Blake and Halim nodded their agreement and the boys wandered off to find a deserted place to see what the parchment said.

They lost any possible tail on their way up the stairs from the first floor when they were on the fourth floor and they ducked into their newly discovered "secret" passage. They headed upstairs to the sixth floor and made their way into an empty classroom well away from the marble staircase so they didn't have a repeat of their dash away from the Gryffindor girls the night before. They entered the classroom and Halim closed the door securely and stood by it to listen for eavesdroppers.

"What does it say?" Albus asked quickly.

Scorpius pulled the parchment out of his pocket and unfolded it. It was in handwriting that he didn't recognize and he began to read the note aloud:

_Boys. – By the time you're actually reading this I should have left the grounds._

"Ha! It is from my Dad," Albus interrupted with a highly amused grin.

"Let him read, Al," Halim admonished.

_I stayed much longer than I intended and I'm sure Al's Mum isn't going to be very happy with me. I forgot how much I missed Hogwarts._

_Anyway, I'm doing something that would probably have Neville extremely irked with me and my wife rather perturbed as well, but I thought it was better than letting you lot get overheard when discussing Ms. Jenkins or my Invisible presence at the school over the last day or so. Al, do not let Rose know I gave you this spell she'll tell her Mum and then Hermione will likely beat my head in, she has disliked this spell since I found it at school._

"Considering she's the Head of Magical Law Enforcement and we'll probably end up breaking dozens of school rules with that, I have absolutely no intention of telling Rose about this spell let alone telling her where I got it from," Albus said aloud sounding almost disappointed with his Dad.

"Let him get to the spell, Al, or we'll be here all day," Blake said sounding mildly irritated at the interruption.

"Fine. Sorry. Sheesh," Al said and motioned for Scorpius to continue reading.

_The spell is Muffliato, it will prevent eavesdroppers from hearing any conversation you may have about… well, I imagine anything you want now since I won't know when or why you're using it. Don't use this spell in Neville's classes either or he'll know. It produces a sort of low key buzzing sound that prevents anyone from being able to hone in on what you're saying. It's useful. Just, please don't abuse it boys, or it'll be the last time I tell you something quite as interesting._

"Do you think if you asked he'd let you use that Marauders Map you were talking about earlier?" Blake asked, interrupting.

Albus aimed a look at Blake and Blake held up his hands apologetically. "Go on, Sam," Albus said calmly.

_Again, don't tell anyone I was there. Don't tell anyone what you know about Ms. Jenkins. Be careful and don't go investigating if you can possibly help it. Study and do your homework. Enjoy yourselves._

_Sincerely,_

_- H_

Scorpius finished reading a looked up at the others. "Al, your Dad is awesome," Blake said with a grin as soon as Scorpius looked up.

Albus almost blushed. "He's pretty cool, yeah," he admitted.

"We should see if we can even pull off the spell," Halim said calmly from the door. "Sam, you try it first for the three of you, and I'll see if I hear the buzzing," he added after a moment.

Scorpius shrugged slightly and pulled his wand from the pocket of his robes. He found the spell on the letter again and, hoping he was pronouncing it right after Flitwick's discussion earlier that day, he held his wand out tried to focus on what he wanted done and said, "_Muffliato!_"

"Say something," Halim said when nothing happened.

"Did it work?" Blake asked sounding hopeful.

"I don't know," Scorpius said frowning and he looked at Halim.

"What did you say? Did you hear me tell you to say something?" Halim asked a little loudly as he frowned.

Albus started to grin and he clapped Scorpius on the shoulder. "That is the coolest thing I have seen in ages," he said as he grinned.

"Oi! You want to end the spell?!" Halim said sounding gruff and slightly annoyed.

"Oh, er… _Finite Incantatem!_" Scorpius said strongly after quickly racking his brain for the spell he needed. He had heard his mother use it once on a malfunctioning piano tuner that had seriously ticked her off.

"Thank you!" Halim said sounding grateful as he rubbed at his ears. "That is annoying, wow," he said frowning. "Are we sure that's what it's supposed to do?" he asked.

Scorpius shrugged and he looked a little apologetic. "I think maybe I over did it, sorry," he said.

"No problem. I mean, it worked, I couldn't hear what you were saying but the buzzing was rather obvious," Halim said as he frowned slightly.

"I'll work on it. You lot should too, maybe one of you will manage it better," Scorpius said calmly and he tucked his wand back into the pocket of his robes.

"I think we need to start working on that book we were talking about, if we're going to be getting secret notes from Al's Dad about the goings on of some serious stuff… I mean, Weasley is likely to snoop if she gets the chance, don't deny it Al, she will, even if she claims to be so utterly holier-than-thou," Blake said calmly although he raised his voice a little when he saw Albus about to protest.

Albus sighed and ran a hand through his hair making it stick up conspicuously. "Yeah, you're right," he said and he sounded rather disappointed.

"We should start looking for possible spells as soon as we can and we can find somewhere in the dorm to hide our… sensitive items in the mean time," Scorpius said calmly and he ran a hand through his hair, smiling slightly. Things were starting to get interesting and he was looking forward to creating something distinctly magical and mostly original with his friends.

Blake grinned. "This is so cool," he said and he smirked.

"Yeah, it is. It's just going to take a lot of work," Halim said calmly.

Scorpius hoped that Blake's slight impatience would not inhibit the research and development of their project and the four of them left the classroom they had hidden out in as deserted as it had been when they initially walked into it. They returned to the common room and their dormitory to drop off their bags, maybe work on their homework and wait for dinner to arrive.

_Author's Note: I hope you all liked the chapter! Please Review! The more reviews I get the sooner I post another chapter! All comments and criticism welcome! Thanks for Reading! - Frankie_


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